Oceans

  1. Paleontology

    In the wake of history’s deadliest mass extinction, ocean life may have flourished

    Ocean life may have recovered in just a million years after the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, fossils from South China suggest.

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  2. Science & Society

    Sea life offers a lens for self-exploration in ‘How Far the Light Reaches’

    In a collection of essays profiling 10 marine animals, author Sabrina Imbler mixes in stories of their own family, self-discovery, sexuality and healing.

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  3. Ecosystems

    Tiger sharks helped discover the world’s largest seagrass prairie

    Instrument-equipped sharks went where divers couldn’t to survey the Bahama Banks seagrass ecosystem.

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  4. Oceans

    Sharks face rising odds of extinction even as other big fish populations recover

    Over the last 70 years, large ocean fishes like tuna and marlin have been recovering from overfishing. But sharks continue to decline toward extinction.

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  5. Climate

    Here’s what happened to the Delaware-sized iceberg that broke off Antarctica

    The powerful pull of currents in the Southern Ocean probably pulled apart the largest remnant of a massive iceberg that split off Antarctica in 2017.

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  6. Environment

    Mangrove forests expand and contract with a lunar cycle

    The carbon-sequestering trees grow in a roughly 18-year cycle according to tides influenced by the moon’s orbit, a study in Australia finds.

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  7. Climate

    A coral pollution study unexpectedly helped explain Hurricane Maria’s fury

    Tracking coral reef pollution in Puerto Rico, conservation researchers discovered by chance how the coastal ocean fueled Hurricane Maria.

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  8. Earth

    The Tonga eruption may have spawned a tsunami as tall as the Statue of Liberty

    A massive undersea volcanic eruption in the South Pacific in January created a tsunami that was initially 90 meters tall, computer simulations suggest.

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  9. Life

    Sea sponges launch slow-motion snot rockets to clean their pores

    Sea sponges rely on a sneezing mechanism to clear their pores, using mucus to flush out debris. This mucus provides food for other marine life.

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  10. Paleontology

    Megatooth sharks may have been higher on the food chain than any ocean animal ever

    Some megalodons and their ancestors were the ultimate apex predators, outeating all known marine animals, researchers report.

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  11. Oceans

    How some sunscreens damage coral reefs

    In lab experiments, sea anemones and coral turned oxybenzone into a toxin activated by light. But helpful algae may provide a layer of protection.

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  12. Climate

    Coastal cities around the globe are sinking

    Of 99 coastal cities, nearly one-third are sinking in some places at more than a centimeter per year, making them more vulnerable to rising seas.

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