Oceans

Earth

How the Chicxulub impact made acid rain

Using lasers to accelerate materials to asteroid-like impact velocities, scientists have shown how the Chicxulub asteroid impact, which happened roughly 65 million years ago, could have created a mass extinction in the oceans.

Animals

Spotted seals hear well in and out of water

Spotted seals, native to the northern parts of the Pacific, hear frequencies that may mean they are susceptible to the effects of anthropogenic noise.

Animals

Fish lose their fear on a denuded reef

Juvenile damselfish lose their ability to smell danger when in a degraded habitat.

Oceans

Unknowns linger for sea mining

Scientists struggle to predict underwater digs’ effects on sea life.

Climate

Sharks could serve as ocean watchdogs

Tagged with sensors, toothy fish gather weather and climate data in remote Pacific waters.

Environment

How oil breaks fish hearts

Hydrocarbons that spill into oceans stifle the beat of tuna cardiac cells.

Climate

Strong winds may have waylaid global warming

Gusts over the Pacific Ocean may have stashed heat underwater since 2001.

Climate

Arctic algae crusts preserve climate data

The records show that sea-ice cover has been declining since 1850.

Earth

Fire may smolder under Antarctic ice

Quakes hint at moving magma that could influence glacial flow.

Oceans

Extremely salty water is at least 100 million years old

Supersaline sediments off East Coast shed light on Atlantic Ocean’s early history.

Climate

Tiny shells hint at hidden ocean warming

Pacific waters are heating up 15 times faster than in earlier eras.

Oceans

Greenland Sea warming faster than world ocean

Deep water temperature of Greenland Sea rises 0.3 degrees Celsius in 30 years.