The ocean contains animals with transparent bodies, light-making organs, dangling tentacles and mouths that seem designed for a science-fiction set. Unfamiliar body plans can make a first encounter feel uncanny. The scientific answer to the question is clear, though: there is no evidence of extraterrestrial aliens in Earth’s ocean. Across all of science, no verified…
More
NOAA’s estuary food-pyramid material starts with a simple observation that governs ponds, rivers, marshes and seas: every bite carries energy that entered the ecosystem earlier. An aquatic food chain traces one possible route for that energy. A tiny alga may be eaten by a zooplankton animal, which may be eaten by a small fish, which…
Five Great Lakes make up the familiar freshwater chain along the U.S.-Canada border: Superior, Michigan and Huron. Erie and Ontario complete the group. The answer matters far beyond a map label. These lakes supply drinking water, support shipping and fishing, shape weather and anchor communities across a huge part of North America. The EPA’s Great…
Earth looks blue from space because the ocean spreads across most of its surface and plunges for kilometers below it. That depth gives the ocean an astonishing share of the planet’s water. NOAA estimates that it contains about 1.335 billion cubic kilometers, or about 321 million cubic miles, of water. The estimate combines the immense…
