Water science news, explainers, and statistics covering freshwater, hydrology, lakes, rivers, groundwater, ice, and Earth’s connected water systems.
A national marine sanctuary is a federally protected area of U.S. ocean or Great Lakes waters recognized for exceptional natural, cultural, historical, scientific, or recreational value. NOAA manages each sanctuary under site-specific rules and a management plan. Protection does not usually mean closing the whole area to people; compatible fishing, boating, diving, research and tourism…
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A nautical mile is a unit of distance used for travel on water and in the air. One international nautical mile equals exactly 1,852 meters, or about 1.1508 statute miles. Mariners and pilots use it because nautical charts are organized around latitude and longitude, making the unit convenient for measuring routes across the curved surface…
A natural oil seep is a place where crude oil and natural gas escape from underground deposits through fractures or porous sediment and enter the sea. The flow may begin far below the seabed, rise through layers of rock and appear as bubbles, droplets, tar, or a thin slick at the surface. Unlike a sudden…
Ocean noise pollution is human-generated underwater sound that interferes with marine animals or alters the acoustic environment they depend on. Vessel engines, sonar, seismic surveys, pile driving, construction and energy operations can add steady background noise or intense pulses. Effects range from masked communication to behavioral disturbance and, at high enough exposure, hearing injury. NOAA’s…
