As an idea that began as a joke, critter-driven ocean mixing has long been controversial. Now scientists have caught spawning anchovies causing turbulence and stirring the sea.
research at sea
Posted inNews
Groundwater Flow May Contribute to Submarine Permafrost Thaw
New, detailed surveys from the Beaufort Sea reveal a seafloor depression the size of a city block associated with permafrost thaw and likely influenced by the movement of groundwater below.
Posted inNews
Microscopic Hitchhikers Found on Deep-Sea Plastic
Are bacteria hailing a ride on plastic 2,000 meters deep?
Posted inFeatures
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.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
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.
Posted inOpinions
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.
Posted inFeatures
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.
Posted inFeatures
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.
Posted inNews
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.
Posted inScience Updates
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.