Ocean science news, explainers, and statistics covering marine environments, currents, climate, coasts, seafloor research, and the changing global ocean.
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 a rare view of culture changing in a wild animal population. The study analyzed nearly two decades of underwater recordings from an endangered, isolated group of whales…
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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 system, a huge stomach that stores scarce meals and a bacteria-derived gene that helps slow energy use in cold ocean depths. The research, led by scientists associated…
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 climate researchers, fisheries scientists and coastal forecasters. The change came after scientists and lawmakers warned that removing hundreds of instruments would create a dangerous blind spot in…
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 North Atlantic. The work, led by Suqiong Hu and Shineng Hu at Duke University, points to an overlooked link between weather in the air and dangerous warmth…
