Laboratory experiments suggest that underwater gas eruptions—due to the venting of gas hydrates, for example—could trigger the formation of layers of suspended sediment in the ocean.
seafloor
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Supersized Potholes Discovered off South African Coast
Curious circular pits off South Africa’s Eastern Cape coast are larger than any similar feature previously recorded. Their origin remains a morphological mystery.
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Tracking Marine Heat Waves
Heat waves can happen in the depths, invisible at the ocean surface.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
The Depleted Mantle Merry-Go-Round
Abyssal peridotites show through their isotopic composition a complex history. From differences we can infer the existence of ultra depleted mantle and an uneven contribution to ridge magmatism.
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Godzilla Gets a Forever Home on the Ocean Floor
The world’s largest oceanic core complex is named after the reptilian monster from Japanese science fiction. Parts of the seabed feature were recently christened with the beast’s anatomy.
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Deep-Sea Sand and Where to Find It
Ancient underwater avalanches carried sand into the ocean’s abyss during a time when some least expected it.
Posted inScience Updates
Making Sense of the Great Barrier Reef’s Mysterious Green Donuts
Researchers set sail to the Great Barrier Reef to study how ring-shaped algae deposits formed and evolved, what feeds them, and the diversity of creatures that call them home.
Posted inScience Updates
Observing a Seismic Cycle at Sea
Scientists organized a trio of expeditions to document the buildup of stress leading to a large earthquake on a seafloor fault, developing innovations for successful seagoing research in the process.
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Seafloor Plastic Pollution Is Not Going Anywhere
The amount of microplastics at the bottom of the Mediterranean is growing as global production increases and plastic breakdown is halted.
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Making Underwater Cables SMART with Sensors
Future cables that stretch across the ocean, transmitting cat videos and financial transactions, could also contain temperature, pressure, and seismic sensors that would allow scientists to spy on the seafloor.