Are bacteria hailing a ride on plastic 2,000 meters deep?
research at sea
An Unprecedented View Inside a Hurricane
To improve future tropical cyclone forecasts, researchers sent a remotely operated saildrone into the extreme winds and towering waves around the eye of a category 4 hurricane.
New Observations Reveal Ancient Subglacial Water Paths
Analyses of new shipboard and ROV observations of bedrock channels carved by floods and outbursts from subglacial lakes under Antarctica shed light on complex subglacial processes.
Deep-Sea Exploration Could Help Us Fight the Next Pandemic
Deep-ocean-dwelling microbes may hold keys to improved medical diagnostics and new drugs for fighting diseases. But we must search Earth’s most extreme habitats to find them.
A Global Ocean Biogeochemical Observatory Becomes a Reality
Building on the successful Argo network of seafaring temperature and salinity sensors, work is underway to deploy 1,000 floats equipped to study ocean biogeochemistry in greater detail than ever.
A Cagey Approach to Speedy and Safe Seafloor Deployments
Researchers devised a simple way to deliver ocean bottom seismometers accurately to the seafloor to study ongoing seismic and volcanic activity near the islands of Mayotte.
Navigating the Pacific with Wind, Waves, and Stars
Ancient Polynesian voyagers sailed thousands of kilometers with no maps or compasses; they followed nature’s clues. Using the same tools, the Moananuiākea Voyage will set sail from Alaska and circle the Pacific.
Mapping a River Beneath the Sea
A recent expedition mapped one of the world’s longest submarine channels, revealing previously undiscovered physical features and raising questions about its unusual origin and shape.
An Ambitious Vision for the Future of Scientific Ocean Drilling
Scientific ocean drilling is an enduring paragon of global research, advancing knowledge of Earth and informing scientists and educators for 55 years. A new road map plots the way to further discovery.
Arctic Unicorns and the Secret Sounds of a Glacial Fjord
The successful deployment of a seafloor seismometer near the calving front of a Greenland glacier has opened a new avenue to study hidden glacial processes and the behavior of fjord-dwelling wildlife.