Seafloor morphology, geology, and geophysics Archives

Hydrology, Cryosphere & Earth Surface

Photo of a research vessel in front of a tidewater glacier

Research Spotlight 14 June 2019

Arctic Glacial Retreat Alters Downstream Fjord Currents

High-resolution mapping efforts could improve predictions of coastal changes as glaciers shrink around the world.

Geology & Geophysics

Layers of Permian marine sediments exposed on the southeast coast of Tasmania, Australia

Research Spotlight 10 May 2019

New Global Analysis Reveals Amount of Sediment on the Ocean Floor

Researchers calculate that there are ~3.37 × 10⁸ cubic kilometers of sediment on the world’s ocean floor.

2 Comments

Geology & Geophysics

Feature 25 April 2019

The Search for the Severed Head of the Himalayas

To unearth the very first sediments to erode from the Himalayas, a team of scientists drilled beneath the Bay of Bengal.

Geology & Geophysics

View of the Ross ice shelf from the OGS Explora, 9 February 2017.

Project Update 11 October 2018

Exploring the Unknown of the Ross Sea in Sea Ice–Free Conditions

A team of polar scientists aboard the OGS Explora, cruising in rare ice-free conditions, discovered new evidence of ancient and modern-day ice sheet sensitivity to climatic fluctuations.

Geology & Geophysics

Ocean drilling cores offer insight into subduction zone behavior and how it might generate earthquakes and tsunamis

Meeting Report 30 July 2018

At-Sea Workshop Advances Subduction Zone Research

International Ocean Discovery Program Core-Log-Seismic integration at Sea ([email protected]) workshop; Nankai Trough, Philippine Sea, off the coast of southwest Japan, January–February 2018

Hydrology, Cryosphere & Earth Surface

Researchers combine estimates of sea surface height and circulation patterns in the Southern Ocean to see the bigger picture.

Research Spotlight 30 April 2018

A Complete Picture of Southern Ocean Surface Circulation

For the first time, researchers combine estimates of sea surface height and circulation patterns in both ice-covered and ice-free regions of the Southern Ocean.

Hydrology, Cryosphere & Earth Surface

The first field measurements of deep-sea turbidity currents reveal the mechanism behind how they transport sediment so far.

Research Spotlight 2 March 2018

How Do Deep-Sea Gravity Currents Transport Sediment So Far?

The first field measurements of turbidity currents flowing around submarine channel bends indicate spiral flow plays a key role in keeping sediment suspended for hundreds of kilometers.

Geology & Geophysics

New Zealand’s Canterbury coast seen from R/V Tangaroa during the MARCAN program’s controlled-source electromagnetic survey.

Project Update 29 January 2018

How Offshore Groundwater Shapes the Seafloor

The MARCAN project, launched last January, is working to fill a gap in our knowledge of how freshwater flowing underground shapes and alters the continental margins.

Geology & Geophysics

The spotlights of a remotely operated vehicle illuminate carbonate rock spires of the Lost City hydrothermal vent field in the Atlantic Ocean.

News 22 November 2017

Deep-Seabed Mining May Come Soon, Says Head of Governing Group

New regulations could open the door for sustainable mining, says the head of the International Seabed Authority. However, he and others pointed to environmental, financial, and technical challenges.

3 Comments

Geology & Geophysics

Scientists aboard the R/V Sonne profiled the seafloor and subsurface near Ritter Island, north of New Guinea, in 2016.

Project Update 10 October 2017

An 1888 Volcanic Collapse Becomes a Benchmark for Tsunami Models

When volcanic mountains slide into the sea, they trigger tsunamis. How big are these waves, and how far away can they do damage? Ritter Island provides some answers.