Oceans
Science News for Students articles on oceans
- Animals
Beware the tap of the narwhal’s tusk
A new video shows narwhals using their tusks to tap fish before eating them. They might be stunning their prey — or just playing with their food.
- Ecosystems
Camera catches new fish species — as it’s eaten!
A video of a lionfish eating a new-found species of fish raises concerns about the threat lionfish pose to undiscovered species in deep reefs.
- Earth
Ancient Arctic ‘gas’ melt triggered enormous seafloor explosions
Methane explosions 12,000 years ago left huge craters in bedrock on the Arctic seafloor. Scientists worry more could be on the way today as Earth’s ice sheets melt.
- Life
Weird mega-worm found to have odd diet
Giant shipworms have bacteria in their gills that produce food for them. This has made their digestive organs shrink from lack of use.
- Environment
Plastic trash rides ocean currents to the Arctic
Ocean currents can carry plastic trash far from the cities that shed it. Some plastic debris has made it all of the way to the Arctic Ocean, new data show.
- Tech
Teen’s invention can warn of deadly rip currents
A teen lifeguard from Australia has invented a buoy that can alert swimmers to the strong, swift and deadly rip currents that can sweep them dangerously far offshore.
- Animals
These killer whales exhale sickening germs
A group of endangered killer whales are exhaling disease-causing germs. Researchers worry these microbes could make the animals sick.
- Oceans
Deep-sea dump: Trash is collecting on the Arctic seafloor
Trash is building up on the bottom of the Arctic Ocean, including plastic bags, glass shards and fishing nets.
- Ecosystems
Underwater meadows appear to fight ocean germs
The seagrasses that sway in coastal currents are more than aquatic groundcover. They can reduce harmful bacteria that might otherwise sicken neighboring animals, new data show.
- Climate
Sea ice around Antarctica shrinks to record low
Just two years after reaching a record high, the Antarctic sea ice extent has reached a new low.
- Oceans
Deep-sea mining could imperil rare, ghostlike octopus
A newly discovered octopus lays its eggs in a dangerous spot: where companies are looking to mine valuable metals for use in cell phones and computers.
- Oceans
Climate change could stall Atlantic ocean current
Rising carbon dioxide concentrations in Earth’s atmosphere could disrupt the Atlantic Ocean current after all, a new analysis finds.
