Oceans

In Scandinavia, early people adorned rocks with thousands of images of boats. 

These Markers of Scandinavia’s Bronze Age Boatyards Were Hiding in Plain Sight

Archaeologists argue that ancient fire pits were used for constructing the area's distinctive boats

Percebes are generally under two inches long, with a fleshy body and pieces of shell that lead to a point on one end. Let's be honest, they look like dinosaur toes.

Why Are Fishermen Braving Dangerous Waters to Harvest Bizarre-Looking Sea Creatures? They're Delicious

Gooseneck barnacles are tasty, but expensive, given the skill and guts it takes to gather them from slick rocks slammed by waves

Mars might host an ocean of water within porous rocks miles beneath its surface, according to a new study.

Mars Hosts a Giant Reservoir of Water Underground, We Just Can't Easily Reach It, Study Finds

The water is enough to cover the Martian surface in a mile-deep ocean, but it's beyond the reach of drills for now, according to researchers

The A23a iceberg, photographed last December. It first split from Antartica in 1986 and stayed in the Weddell Sea until 2020, when it started drifting away.

The World's Largest Iceberg Is Stuck in a Spinning Ocean Vortex

The mega iceberg A23a is destined to melt after breaking free from Antarctica in 1986, but this pause in its journey is delaying its fate, experts say

A mantle rock sample viewed under a microscope.

Scientists Drill Deeper Into Earth's Mantle Than Ever Before, Probing for the Origin of Life on Earth

The record-setting rock samples will provide insight into the chemical processes that may have kick-started life on our planet

A sunburst anemone (Anthopleura sola) fluoresces under ultraviolet light. Anemones eat prey that gets trapped in their sticky oral disk.

These Mesmerizing Anemones Have a Glowing Layer of Protection

Marine biologists discovered that a protein that boosts fluorescent output also enables an antioxidant property

An Australian sea lion captures video while swimming through an invertebrate reef habitat.

Scientists Enlist the Help of Sea Lions to Reveal a Unique View of the Ocean Floor

Australian researchers glued satellite-linked GPS cameras to the animals' backs to capture footage that could be vital to marine conservation efforts

With spikes as long as knitting needles, long-spined sea urchins may look like underwater villains, but their appetite for algae makes them the unsung heroes of Caribbean reefs.

The Valiant Effort to Restore the Caribbean's Sea Urchins

The very hungry, spiky custodians gobble up the algae that smother coral reefs

Six of the 12 islands, including Hiva Oa, are permanently inhabited.

These Remote Volcanic Islands in the South Pacific Just Became a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Marquesas, located some 3,000 miles from their nearest continental neighbor, are some of the most isolated islands on the planet

The cotton candy lobster caught by Joseph Kramer.

Rare 1-in-100-Million 'Cotton Candy' Lobster Found off the Coast of New Hampshire

A rare genetic mutation gives the crustacean its unique hues but also makes it more vulnerable to predators

Athletes like Canada's Sanoa Dempfle-Olin traveled to Tahiti for this year's Olympics.

Why Are the Olympic Surfing Events Being Held in Tahiti?

The tiny village of Teahupo’o, known for its monstrous, barrel-shaped waves, will host 48 athletes from 21 countries during the Summer Games

Gerard Barron, chairman and CEO of The Metals Company, holds a nodule retreived from the seafloor in the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean in 2021. The company plans to mine for these nodules, which researchers suggest produce oxygen underwater.

Scientists Discover 'Dark Oxygen' on the Ocean Floor Generated—Surprisingly—by Lumps of Metal

Researchers found that electric currents from polymetallic nodules are behind this alchemy—the same minerals that deep-sea miners are targeting

The Brazilian sharpnose sharks were purchased from fishers between September 2021 and August 2023.

Thirteen Sharks Test Positive for Cocaine Off the Coast of Brazil

All of the wild Brazilian sharpnose sharks tested in a new study had the drug in their bodies, but many questions remain about cocaine's effects on aquatic creatures—and the humans who eat them

The JOIDES Resolution in 2012 off the coast of Costa Rica, on an expedition to understand how earthquakes form

What Will Happen If This Iconic Research Vessel Stops Drilling in the Deep Sea?

After a career marked by major discoveries, the JOIDES Resolution is likely on its last official mission to retrieve rock cores from the ocean floor

The remains of whales that sink to the ocean floor become biological oases. Since 1977, scientists had only identified about 50 such whale falls across the world’s oceans, but a recent effort uncovered a startling density of them off the coast of Los Angeles.

Why Have So Many Whale Remains Been Found on the Ocean Floor Near Los Angeles?

Scientists have discovered more whale falls there than in the rest of the world combined

A photograph of the Endurance stuck in ice before it sank to the bottom of the Weddell Sea in 1915

Wreck of Shackleton's 'Endurance' Gets New Protections

The vessel will be preserved beneath Antarctic waters inside a sprawling restricted zone

Winged Life Winner

View 11 Breathtaking Images From the BigPicture Photography Competition

This 2024 showcase of life on Earth shines a light on some of our planet's most amazing species and places

A ctenophore, or comb jelly, swims in waters near New Zealand.

How Deep-Sea Comb Jellies Hold Their Shape Under Crushing Pressure

The delicate sea creatures fall apart when brought to the surface but can survive miles deep in the ocean due to special cell wall structures, according to a new study

A diver found the vessel off the coast of northern Cyprus in 1965.

How Researchers Solved the Mystery of This 2,000-Year-Old Shipwreck

A new analysis of nuts, timber and other items found onboard the Kyrenia shipwreck is shedding new light on the vessel's timeline

An artist's rendition of the volcanic eruption that preserved several trilobite fossils in ash more than 500 million years ago.

Volcanic Ash Preserved Trilobite Fossils in Surprising Detail at 'Prehistoric Pompeii'

The specimens date to more than 500 million years ago and provide new insights into trilobite anatomy, revealing previously unseen features

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