Oceans

Environment

Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused months-long ‘dirty blizzard’

Pollution from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill accumulated on the seafloor for months after the leak was patched.

Oceans

Ancient tsunamis reshaped Mars’ landscape

Ancient tsunamis generated by meteorite impacts may have reshaped ocean coastlines on Mars.

Oceans

The Arctic Ocean is about to get spicier

Variations in the saltiness and temperature of seawater of the same density, called spiciness, could increase as the Arctic Ocean warms.

Oceans

Here’s where 17,000 ocean research buoys ended up

A combined look at 35 years’ worth of ocean buoy movements reveals the currents that feed into ocean garbage patches.

Animals

Cause of mass starfish die-offs is still a mystery

Sea stars off the U.S. west coast started dying off en masse in 2013. Scientists are still struggling to figure out the cause.

Climate

Fizzled 2014 El Niño fired up ongoing monster El Niño

The ongoing El Niño, one of the strongest on record, got a heat boost from a 2014 event that failed due to unfavorable winds.

Animals

Scientists find a crab party deep in the ocean

A trip to check out the biodiversity off the coast of Panama revealed thousands of crabs swarming on the seafloor.

Ecosystems

Heat may outpace corals’ ability to cope

Corals may soon lose their ability to withstand warming waters.

Climate

Changing climate: 10 years after ‘An Inconvenient Truth’

In the 10 years since "An Inconvenient Truth," climate researchers have made progress in predicting how rising temperatures will affect sea level, weather patterns and polar ice.

Oceans

Readers question ocean health

Ocean plastics, ant behavior, pollution solutions and more in reader feedback.

Climate

Sea levels could rise twice as fast as previously predicted

Sea level rise from Antarctica’s melting ice could accelerate faster and sooner than previously thought.

Animals

In the Coral Triangle, clownfish figured out how to share

In the Coral Triangle in Southeast Asia, an area of rich biodiversity, clownfish species often share anemones, a new study finds.