# Oceans - ARGO.net Science > Ocean science news, explainers, and statistics covering marine environments, currents, climate, coasts, seafloor research, and the changing global ocean. Canonical URL: https://www.argo.net/oceans/ RSS feed: https://www.argo.net/oceans/feed/ ## Published Stories - [Chile’s first floating solar salmon pen is projected to supply 57% of a remote fish farm’s energy while cutting diesel use](https://www.argo.net/chiles-first-floating-solar-salmon-pen-is-projected-to-supply-57-of-a-remote-fish-farms-energy-while-cutting-diesel-use/index.html.md): 2026-07-14 - Mowi Chile has launched the country's first floating solar pen at its Huar Norte salmon farm. The marine energy system combines photovoltaic panels with batteries and power controls.... - [The ocean produces roughly half of Earth’s oxygen through microscopic phytoplankton, while mature rainforests consume most of what they make and the atmosphere stores the legacy of photosynthesis over hundreds of millions of years](https://www.argo.net/the-ocean-produces-roughly-half-of-earths-oxygen-through-microscopic-phytoplankton-while-mature-rainforests-consume-most-of-what-they-make-and-the-atmosphere-stores-the-legacy-of-photosynthesis-ove/index.html.md): 2026-07-13 - NOAA's official assessment addresses a deceptively simple question: Where does Earth's oxygen come from? Scientists estimate that roughly half of the planet's annual oxygen production occurs in the... - [Greenland sharks can live for roughly 400 years, longer than any other known vertebrate and a near-complete genome mapped in 2026 reveals DNA repair and chromatin stability alongside immune defenses and cancer resistance, molecular systems that may keep individuals born around Shakespeare’s lifetime still swimming in cold Arctic waters after nearly four centuries of life](https://www.argo.net/greenland-sharks-can-live-for-roughly-400-years-longer-than-any-other-known-vertebrate-and-a-near-complete-genome-mapped-in-2026-reveals-dna-repair-and-chromatin-stability-alongside-immune-defenses-a/index.html.md): 2026-07-13 - A PNAS study led by researchers at the University of Tokyo has produced a chromosome-scale map of the Greenland shark genome. The assembly covers an estimated 96.7 percent... - [31 strange new species discovered in just two weeks off Brazil](https://www.argo.net/31-strange-new-species-discovered-in-just-two-weeks-off-brazil/index.html.md): 2026-07-13 - Schmidt Ocean Institute announced 31 previously undescribed marine species from a two-week expedition off Brazil, a rapid burst of discovery from one of Earth's least familiar habitats. The... - [For 400 years, sailors reported ghostly white seas across the Indian Ocean and a new database combining ship logs with satellite imagery suggests climate patterns may help predict when trillions of microscopic bacteria could switch on a glow vast enough to be seen from space](https://www.argo.net/for-400-years-sailors-reported-ghostly-white-seas-across-the-indian-ocean-and-a-new-database-combining-ship-logs-with-satellite-imagery-suggests-climate-patterns-may-help-predict-when-trillions-of-mi/index.html.md): 2026-07-10 - Researchers at Colorado State University and the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere have assembled four centuries of reports about one of the ocean's rarest spectacles. Their... - [A 2015 expedition found silky sharks and scalloped hammerheads inside Kavachi’s active submarine crater in the Solomon Islands, where warm, acidic, particle-filled plumes from a volcano with at least 39 recorded eruptions since 1939 reveal how a shallow, rapidly mixed “sharkcano” can offer large predators brief access to a food-rich habitat amid recurring violent disturbance](https://www.argo.net/a-2015-expedition-found-silky-sharks-and-scalloped-hammerheads-inside-kavachis-active-submarine-crater-in-the-solomon-islands-where-warm-acidic-particle-filled-plumes-from-a-volcano-with-at-least/index.html.md): 2026-07-10 - A 2016 Oceanography study documented sharks and other marine life inside the active crater of the Kavachi submarine volcano in the Solomon Islands. Cameras lowered into the crater... - [Fossil jaws reveal a 62-foot Cretaceous predator that may have ruled ancient seas](https://www.argo.net/fossil-jaws-reveal-a-62-foot-cretaceous-predator-that-may-have-ruled-ancient-seas/index.html.md): 2026-07-08 - A study in Science has put a surprising new contender near the top of the Cretaceous ocean food chain. Researchers studying fossilized jaws from Japan and Canada report... - [Ancient life left wrinkles in deep ocean rocks where sunlight could not reach](https://www.argo.net/ancient-life-left-wrinkles-in-deep-ocean-rocks-where-sunlight-could-not-reach/index.html.md): 2026-07-07 - Researchers at UT Austin have reported fossilized microbial wrinkle structures in 180-million-year-old deep-water rocks from Morocco, pointing to ancient life that may have flourished in darkness. The finding,... - [Seawater carbon removal can backfire when alkalinity is pushed too far](https://www.argo.net/seawater-carbon-removal-can-backfire-when-alkalinity-is-pushed-too-far/index.html.md): 2026-07-06 - A study in Frontiers tested three levels of added alkalinity in seawater and found a sharp chemical boundary for a proposed ocean-based carbon removal method. Researchers led by... - [Hawaii’s ocean plastic may soon pave stronger roads](https://www.argo.net/hawaiis-ocean-plastic-may-soon-pave-stronger-roads/index.html.md): 2026-07-06 - Researchers at the Center for Marine Debris Research at Hawaiʻi Pacific University have presented early results showing that discarded fishing nets and household plastic waste can be blended... - [Ancient Caribbean sponge may have filtered seawater for 2,300 years](https://www.argo.net/ancient-caribbean-sponge-may-have-filtered-seawater-for-2300-years/index.html.md): 2026-07-03 - A Marine Biology study found that the Caribbean giant barrel sponge can grow so slowly that some individuals may live for thousands of years. Using repeated photographs and... - [Scientists discover a new shark that walks across shallow reefs](https://www.argo.net/scientists-discover-a-new-shark-that-walks-across-shallow-reefs/index.html.md): 2026-07-03 - Researchers led by the University of the Sunshine Coast have identified a new species of walking shark from shallow reefs in southeastern Papua New Guinea, according to a... - [Two humpback whales shattered migration records between Australia and Brazil](https://www.argo.net/two-humpback-whales-shattered-migration-records-between-australia-and-brazil/index.html.md): 2026-07-02 - A study in Royal Society Open Science has found that two humpback whales made extraordinary journeys between breeding grounds in eastern Australia and Brazil. The whales were recognized... - [180-million-year-old sea dragon found in mud reveals Britain’s largest ichthyosaur skeleton](https://www.argo.net/180-million-year-old-sea-dragon-found-in-mud-reveals-britains-largest-ichthyosaur-skeleton/index.html.md): 2026-07-02 - A study in Proceedings of the Geologists' Association describes a 10-meter marine reptile skeleton from Rutland Water Nature Reserve as the largest ichthyosaur skeleton ever found in the... - [A ghost great white shark reopens a 160-year Mediterranean mystery](https://www.argo.net/a-ghost-great-white-shark-reopens-a-160-year-mediterranean-mystery/index.html.md): 2026-07-01 - A 2026 study in Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria has turned one accidental catch into a renewed scientific search for one of the Mediterranean Sea's most elusive predators. Researchers... - [Sperm whales in the Mediterranean are evolving two dialects](https://www.argo.net/sperm-whales-in-the-mediterranean-are-evolving-two-dialects/index.html.md): 2026-07-01 - A study in Proceedings of the Royal Society B has found that sperm whales in the Mediterranean Sea appear to be splitting into two vocal dialect groups, offering... - [Ocean warming crossed 1.5°C and marine life was disrupted all year](https://www.argo.net/ocean-warming-crossed-1-5c-and-marine-life-was-disrupted-all-year/index.html.md): 2026-06-29 - A study in One Earth led by researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology has captured a troubling global picture of marine life during the first... - [Artificial light is stealing sleep from coral reef fish](https://www.argo.net/artificial-light-is-stealing-sleep-from-coral-reef-fish/index.html.md): 2026-06-29 - A study in Current Biology has found that artificial light spilling into coastal waters can disrupt sleep in coral reef fish, change their nighttime behavior and leave biological... - [Melting Arctic icebergs are seeding the deep sea with rocky homes](https://www.argo.net/melting-arctic-icebergs-are-seeding-the-deep-sea-with-rocky-homes/index.html.md): 2026-06-27 - A study in Nature has uncovered a hidden Arctic chain reaction: debris-filled icebergs are carrying rocks away from melting glaciers and dropping them onto the deep seafloor, where... - [NASA satellite spots a giant Pacific wave as El Niño gathers strength](https://www.argo.net/nasa-satellite-spots-a-giant-pacific-wave-as-el-nino-gathers-strength/index.html.md): 2026-06-27 - NASA Earth Observatory has revealed a striking ocean signal in the equatorial Pacific, where the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite detected a vast band of higher sea level tied... - [Japan Just Pulled Rare Earth Mud From Nearly 6,000 Meters Under the Pacific](https://www.argo.net/japan-just-pulled-rare-earth-mud-from-nearly-6000-meters-under-the-pacific/index.html.md): 2026-06-22 - Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology has reported a rare deep-sea technology test near Minamitori Island, where the scientific drilling vessel Chikyu recovered mineral-rich sediment during a... - [Endangered Arabian Sea Humpback Whale Makes First Recorded Crossing to India](https://www.argo.net/endangered-arabian-sea-humpback-whale-makes-first-recorded-crossing-to-india/index.html.md): 2026-06-19 - A study in Frontiers in Marine Science has tracked one of the world's most unusual whale populations in new detail, revealing that Arabian Sea humpback whales usually remain... - [Deep-Sea Isopod Can Survive More Than 5 Years Without Food, and Scientists Found the Survival System](https://www.argo.net/deep-sea-isopod-can-survive-more-than-5-years-without-food-and-scientists-found-the-survival-system/index.html.md): 2026-06-19 - A study in Cell has revealed how a giant deep-sea isopod can survive more than five years without eating. Researchers linked this rare endurance to a two-part survival... - [NSF Reverses Ocean Sensor Cuts After Scientists Warned of a Climate Data Blind Spot](https://www.argo.net/nsf-reverses-ocean-sensor-cuts-after-scientists-warned-of-a-climate-data-blind-spot/index.html.md): 2026-06-19 - The U.S. National Science Foundation has reversed course on a plan that would have sharply reduced parts of the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a major ocean-monitoring network used by... - [Rivers in the Sky May Be Quietly Shaping Deadly Ocean Heatwaves](https://www.argo.net/rivers-in-the-sky-may-be-quietly-shaping-deadly-ocean-heatwaves/index.html.md): 2026-06-19 - A study in Nature Communications found that atmospheric rivers, long bands of moisture that stream across the sky, can help shape marine heatwaves in the North Pacific and... - [Century-Old Bomb Lance Fragment Found in Bowhead Whale Revealed Its Astonishing Age](https://www.argo.net/century-old-bomb-lance-fragment-found-in-bowhead-whale-revealed-its-astonishing-age/index.html.md): 2026-06-17 - A study in Polar Biology found that historical weapon fragments recovered from bowhead whales can help scientists estimate the animals' remarkable lifespans. One fragment, found in a bowhead... - [Ocean Heatwaves Are Hiding a Much Longer Warm Spell, New Study Finds](https://www.argo.net/ocean-heatwaves-are-hiding-a-much-longer-warm-spell-new-study-finds/index.html.md): 2026-06-17 - A study in Communications Earth & Environment has revealed a hidden part of marine heatwaves along U.S. coastlines. The extreme days that appear on official charts are often... - [Scientists Discover a 5.3-Million-Year-Old Whale Graveyard 23,000 Feet Under the Indian Ocean](https://www.argo.net/scientists-discover-a-5-3-million-year-old-whale-graveyard-23000-feet-under-the-indian-ocean/index.html.md): 2026-06-15 - A study in Nature has revealed a vast whale graveyard deep in the southeastern Indian Ocean. Researchers led by Xiaotong Peng of the Institute of Deep-sea Science and... - [Icebergs Are Rewiring Arctic Seafloor Life as Greenland’s Glaciers Shed More Ice](https://www.argo.net/icebergs-are-rewiring-arctic-seafloor-life-as-greenlands-glaciers-shed-more-ice/index.html.md): 2026-06-15 - A study in Nature found that climate-driven iceberg traffic is carrying the effects of warming glaciers into deep Arctic ecosystems. The work links glacier change near the surface... - [Scientists Have Precisely Mapped Just 28% of Earth’s Ocean Floor](https://www.argo.net/scientists-have-precisely-mapped-just-28-of-earths-ocean-floor/index.html.md): 2026-06-15 - The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project has put a stark number on one of Earth science's biggest blind spots: only 28% of the ocean floor has been mapped... - [Warmer Oceans Are Making North Atlantic Hurricanes Wetter and Slower, Study Finds](https://www.argo.net/warmer-oceans-are-making-north-atlantic-hurricanes-wetter-and-slower-study-finds/index.html.md): 2026-06-14 - A study in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science has found that warmer North Atlantic conditions are linked to wetter tropical cyclones, broader heavy-rain areas and slower storm movement... - [Tiny 436-Million-Year-Old Fish Reveals the Oldest Bony Fish Skeleton Ever Found](https://www.argo.net/tiny-436-million-year-old-fish-reveals-the-oldest-bony-fish-skeleton-ever-found/index.html.md): 2026-06-14 - A study in Nature led by researchers at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, describes a tiny fossil fish from South China that... - [Mangroves: Protecting Coasts and Sustaining Life](https://www.argo.net/mangroves-protecting-coasts-and-sustaining-life/index.html.md): 2026-04-25 - Mangrove forests might not look impressive at first. Their tangled roots rise out of muddy, dark water and their thick trunks crowd the shoreline. The air is hot,... - [How Whales Shape Ocean Ecosystems](https://www.argo.net/how-whales-shape-ocean-ecosystems/index.html.md): 2026-04-25 - When a whale surfaces from the dark water and breathes into the open air, it may seem like just a brief moment in a vast, empty sea. In... - [Why Coastal Cities Changed Human History](https://www.argo.net/why-coastal-cities-changed-human-history/index.html.md): 2026-04-25 - Stand on a shoreline and the logic of a city begins to feel almost inevitable. A coast is more than a boundary - it is a threshold. It... - [How Ocean Air Can Affect the Human Body](https://www.argo.net/how-ocean-air-can-affect-the-human-body/index.html.md): 2026-04-25 - Stand near the shoreline for even a minute and your body registers the change almost immediately. The air feels heavier with moisture. Your lips catch a trace of... - [What Seaweed Reveals About Eating Healthy](https://www.argo.net/what-seaweed-reveals-about-eating-healthy/index.html.md): 2026-04-21 - For years, seaweed has been arranged in dark green ribbons on rice, folded around sushi, dipped into soup, or left on the plate's edge. It is now gaining... - [Volcanoes Beneath the Sea Form New Land](https://www.argo.net/volcanoes-beneath-the-sea-form-new-land/index.html.md): 2026-04-21 - Far beneath the ocean's surface, hidden from view, powerful forces are constantly reshaping our planet. Most of Earth's volcanic activity happens out of sight, deep under the ocean.... - [Why Some Coastlines Wear Away Faster Than Others](https://www.argo.net/why-some-coastlines-wear-away-faster-than-others/index.html.md): 2026-04-21 - Stand on two beaches just a few miles apart and the contrast can be striking. One may look wide, calm and stable, while the other shows crumbling cliffs,... - [Why Some Deep-Sea Animals Glow in the Dark](https://www.argo.net/why-some-deep-sea-animals-glow-in-the-dark/index.html.md): 2026-04-21 - The ocean remains a place where eyes stays essential far beneath the reach of daylight. In the darkness, animals make their own light. The sea holds the great... - [What Causes Ocean Waters to Rise From Below](https://www.argo.net/what-causes-ocean-waters-to-rise-from-below/index.html.md): 2026-04-20 - The ocean may look calm on the surface, but beneath it lies a dynamic world of constant motion. Water doesn't just move across the seas. Some currents travel... - [How Ocean Currents Help Regulate Earth’s Climate](https://www.argo.net/how-ocean-currents-help-regulate-earths-climate/index.html.md): 2026-04-20 - Earth's climate is always moving. The tropics get strong sunlight, while the poles lose more heat than they receive. The planet stays balanced because air and ocean water... - [What Makes Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents So Unusual?](https://www.argo.net/what-makes-deep-sea-hydrothermal-vents-so-unusual/index.html.md): 2026-04-19 - Far below the reach of sunlight, the seafloor can split open and release jets of mineral-rich water into the dark. Around those openings, called deep-sea hydrothermal vents, the... - [What Happens When Coral Reefs Begin to Dissolve](https://www.argo.net/what-happens-when-coral-reefs-begin-to-dissolve/index.html.md): 2026-04-19 - Coral reefs look solid, almost permanent. From a distance they seem like underwater stone cities, full of color and motion, built to last for ages. Yet their strength... - [How Microplastics Mix With Pollution in the Ocean](https://www.argo.net/how-microplastics-mix-with-pollution-in-the-ocean/index.html.md): 2026-04-19 - The ocean is full of motion. Currents sweep across basins, waves grind coastlines and tiny fragments of human-made material drift through it all. Some of those fragments are... - [Why Heavy Metals Build Up in Ocean Food Chains](https://www.argo.net/why-heavy-metals-build-up-in-ocean-food-chains/index.html.md): 2026-04-19 - The ocean has a quiet way of concentrating trouble. Tiny traces of metal can drift through water at levels so low they seem almost meaningless, then end up... - [Why Some Coastal Waters Turn Green or Red](https://www.argo.net/why-some-coastal-waters-turn-green-or-red/index.html.md): 2026-04-18 - Seen from a beach, coastal water can look like it changes moods overnight. One week it glows blue-green in the sun. A few days later it turns murky... - [Why Is the Ocean Salty?](https://www.argo.net/why-is-the-ocean-salty/index.html.md): 2026-04-18 - Take a sip of seawater and your mouth gets the answer before your brain does. The ocean holds a huge load of dissolved minerals and that gives it... - [How Rising Acidity Changes Ocean Water](https://www.argo.net/how-rising-acidity-changes-ocean-water/index.html.md): 2026-04-18 - The ocean looks steady from the shore. Under the surface, though, it is constantly trading gases with the air above it. That exchange has always been part of... - [What Low Oxygen Does in the Sea](https://www.argo.net/what-low-oxygen-does-in-the-sea/index.html.md): 2026-04-18 - The sea looks full of motion. Waves roll. Fish flash by. Plankton bloom and vanish. Beneath all that movement sits a quiet requirement, dissolved oxygen. Every breathless patch... - [How Carbon Moves Between the Air and the Ocean](https://www.argo.net/how-carbon-moves-between-the-air-and-the-ocean/index.html.md): 2026-04-18 - Every day, the planet runs a huge exchange program at the sea surface. Carbon slips out of the air, into the ocean, back to the air again and...