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.
seafloor
Posted inNews
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.
Posted inNews
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.
Posted inNews
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.
Posted inNews
In the Deepest Ocean Reaches, a Potent Pollutant Comes to Rest
Surprising amounts of mercury settling into deep-sea trenches may provide a fuller picture of the metal’s path through the environment, but pulling it to the surface is no easy feat.
Posted inNews
The Bottom of the Arctic Is Blooming
Researchers found phytoplankton hidden on the Arctic seafloor, hinting at a cascade of effects on the local ecology and carbon cycle.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Under Pressure: Recording Earthquakes at and Below the Seafloor
Cabled ocean-floor observatories record ground shaking and pressure variations, which contribute to early warning systems and give us a unique view of the ocean–crust coupling.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Can Anelastic Attenuation of Oceanic Mantle be Reliably Measured?
A new study demonstrates that robust anelastic attenuation measurements can be made across ocean bottom seismic arrays at different locations using surface wave array analysis.