Oceans

Science News for Students articles on oceans

  1. Earth

    Hacking the planet

    The big backup plan: Scientists reluctantly consider altering Earth’s climate to head off the catastrophic effects of global warming.

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  2. Microbes

    Mystery microbes of the sea

    Biologists find archaea a true curiosity. They make up one of life’s three main branches. The two better known branches are bacteria and eukaryotes (u KARE ee oatz). That last branch includes animals, plants and fungi. But archaea have remained mysterious. Very little is known about them. In fact, their unique status wasn’t even recognized until relatively recently, in 1977.

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  3. Earth

    Nature’s coast guards

    Barrier islands aren’t just for beach vacations — they protect coasts from storms and flooding.

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  4. Environment

    Home, plastic home

    Some ocean life is moving into floating piles of plastic trash.

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  5. Animals

    Motion in the ocean

    Scientists figure out why pulsing corals pulse.

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  6. Earth

    Ahead of the wave

    Scientists are working to predict — and tame — the tsunamis that can threaten some coastal communities

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  7. Climate

    Explainer: El Niño and La Niña

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  8. Climate

    Climate’s troublesome kids

    The recurring climate events El Niño and La Niña trigger long-lived changes to weather around the world.

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  9. Earth

    Less ice, more seawater

    Shrinking ice sheets contribute to rising sea levels, large-scale study confirms.

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  10. Chemistry

    Explainer: Ocean acidification

    Here’s why shellfish and other animals in the sea suffer when the ocean is forced to absorb too much carbon dioxide.

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  11. Climate

    Watching our seas rise

    Satellites, coral reefs, ancient Roman fishponds and sinking cities help us understand how humans are changing sea level.

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  12. Microbes

    Living long beneath the sea

    Microbes in the mud beneath the seafloor may live millions of years, redefining what it means to be old and alive.

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