Ocean science news, explainers, and statistics covering marine environments, currents, climate, coasts, seafloor research, and the changing global ocean.
The largest waterfall on Earth never breaks the ocean surface. It pours through the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland, where a hidden wall of cold water descends along the seabed. The drop reaches roughly 11,500 feet, more than three times the height of Angel Falls and the flow carries far more water than any…
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Scientists count marine life by combining direct surveys, catches, cameras, acoustic instruments, environmental DNA, tags and statistical models. No method observes every organism. A reliable census estimates the portion missed and matches the tool to the species, habitat and question. NOAA’s overview of the marine census points to the international Census of Marine Life, which…
Ocean sand is not one substance. It is a size class of sediment made from rock fragments, mineral grains, shells, coral skeletons and other biological remains. The mixture on a particular coast records the nearby geology, the organisms living offshore and the waves or currents that sort material by size and density. NOAA’s account of…
The Sargasso Sea is a region of the North Atlantic bounded by circulating currents rather than coastlines. It is named for floating brown algae called Sargassum, which forms patches and long weed lines at the surface. Its edges shift as the currents and atmosphere change. The sea lies within the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. The…
