Water science news, explainers, and statistics covering freshwater, hydrology, lakes, rivers, groundwater, ice, and Earth’s connected water systems.
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…
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A catcher beach is a stretch of coast where winds and currents repeatedly deposit floating debris. Its sand or rocks may hold fishing floats, bottles and other objects that entered the water far away. The unusual concentration can make the beach look like a major local source of pollution even when ocean circulation delivered much…
The most frequently counted item in many coastal cleanups is small enough to disappear between grains of sand. Cigarette butts have occupied the top of global litter lists for decades, although food wrappers moved into first place in one recent International Coastal Cleanup reporting year. Both findings point to the same broad source: disposable products…
A hurricane can move the contents of a neighborhood into coastal water within hours. Storm surge lifts boats from their moorings, floodwater sweeps household objects through streets and waves break docks into drifting sections. Earthquakes and tsunamis can do the same across a much larger shoreline. The resulting material becomes marine debris when it enters…
