Oceans

Science News for Students articles on oceans

  1. Oceans

    Night lights make even the seas bright

    Light from coastal cities and offshore development may shine deep enough to disrupt tiny critters living dozens of meters (yards) below the surface.

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  2. Environment

    Analyze This: Corals stash microplastics in their skeletons

    Scientists have wondered where the ocean’s microplastic pollution ends up. Corals may trap about 1 percent of particles in tropical waters each year.

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  3. Animals

    Orcas can take down the largest animal on the planet

    For the first time, scientists observed that orcas can kill blue whales by using the same hunting techniques that have worked on other large whales.

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  4. Environment

    Scientists Say: Pollution

    Pollution is any substance or form of energy released into the environment that is harmful to people or other living creatures.

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  5. Earth

    Analyze This: Nutrients from sewage may harm coastal ecosystems

    A new model suggests that 58 percent of coral reefs and 88 percent of seagrass beds are exposed to excess nitrogen from wastewater.

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  6. Climate

    Scientists Say: El Niño and La Niña

    El Niño and La Niña are part of a climate cycle that results in major weather changes every few years.

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  7. Oceans

    Scientists Say: Atoll

    Atolls form when coral reefs build up around underwater volcanoes.

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  8. Oceans

    Moon’s orbital wobble can add to sea-level rise and flooding

    In a dozen years or so, the tide-enhancing effects of a wobble in the moon’s orbit should lead to dramatically higher sea levels in some coastal cities.

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  9. Environment

    Let’s learn about plastic pollution

    The world is cluttered with plastic waste. All that junk kills animals far and wide.

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  10. Fossils

    Sudden shark die-off 19 million years ago eliminated most species

    New fossil evidence shows 90 percent of sharks died in the mysterious event.

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  11. Animals

    Let’s learn about whales and dolphins

    Whales, dolphins and porpoises are all cetaceans — mammals that live in water and have a streamlined body similar to a fish.

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  12. Animals

    A common antibiotic might save some sick corals

    The antibiotic amoxicillin stopped tissue death in corals for at least 11 months after treatment.

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