Oceans

Science News for Students articles on oceans

  1. Ecosystems

    Urchin takeover underlies California’s vanishing kelp forests

    Some 95 percent of kelp forests along its northern coast are gone. Meanwhile, sea otters are helping slow the loss of surviving kelp farther south.

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  2. Microbes

    Several plant-like algae can morph into animal-like predators

    Single-celled green algae swim through water as free cells. Most use only photosynthesis for their energy. But not all of them, a new study shows.

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  3. Earth

    Fin whales could help scientists map what lies below the seafloor

    Fin-whale calls are loud enough to penetrate into Earth’s crust, offering scientists a new way to study the properties of the ocean floor.

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  4. Earth

    Rock rising from below the Atlantic may drive continents apart

    Molten rock rising from the deep mantle at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge may drive plate tectonics there more than had been expected.

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  5. Climate

    2020 was warmest year on record for Earth’s oceans

    2020 continued the trend of record-breaking heat for the world’s oceans. The three previous warmest years on record were 2019, 2017 and 2018.

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  6. Animals

    Choked by bacteria, some starfish are turning to goo

    For years, researchers thought gooey, dying starfish were infected. Instead, these sea stars are suffocating. And bacteria may be behind it all.

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  7. Environment

    Unmasking the pandemic’s pollution problem

    Discarding all the materials people use to protect themselves from COVID-19 has created a growing environmental problem.

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  8. Animals

    Let’s learn about sharks

    This ancient group of fish can use scent and even electricity to detect their prey. And they fill an important niche in the ocean.

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  9. Oceans

    Analyze This: Shipwrecks provide a home for bottom-dwelling fish

    Fish have found a habitat in a submarine and freighter that sunk to the seafloor during World War II.

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  10. Animals

    Whales get a second life as deep-sea buffets

    When a whale dies and sinks to the seafloor, it becomes a feast for hundreds of different types of creatures.

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  11. Animals

    One tiny sea parasite survives 200 times atmospheric pressure

    Known as the seal louse, this tiny insect can survive deep oceanic dives on its mobile home, a marine mammal.

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  12. Microbes

    Some deep-seafloor microbes still alive after 100 million years!

    Some starving microbes nap while awaiting their next meal. For some living miles below the ocean surface, that nap may exceed 100 million years.

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