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.
seafloor
Posted inOpinions
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.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Hydrothermal Microbes Can Be Green Energy Producers
In ultramafic, reducing environments, forming microbial proteins can actually release energy.
Posted inFeatures
Ocean Terrain and the Engineering Challenges for Offshore Wind Farms
Deep coastal seabeds, glacial erratics, and other geophysical hurdles stand in the way of offshore wind farm proliferation. Researchers, engineers, and organizations are adapting and inventing ways to harness the breeze.
Posted inNews
Forecasting Geohazards in the Age of Gas Hydrate Exploitation
A curious breath-like pattern exhibited by gas hydrates may help forecast hazards associated with extracting them from the seafloor.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Sedimentary Tepees Record Ocean Chemistry
Sedimentary structures from evaporative coastal environments indicate carbonate saturation, offer insight in mid-Mesozoic ocean chemistry and potentially even earlier times.
Posted inNews
An Iceberg May Have Initiated a Submarine Landslide
A new study shows that icebergs may initiate submarine landslides when they collide with the seafloor.
Posted inNews
Getting to the Bottom of Trawling’s Carbon Emissions
A new model shows that bottom trawling, which stirs up marine sediments as weighted nets scrape the ocean floor, may be releasing more than a billion metric tons of carbon every year.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Particles at the Ocean Surface and Seafloor Aren’t So Different
Despite occurring on different scales, flux measurements throughout the water column share log-normal probability distributions.
Posted inScience Updates
Seafloor Seismometers Look for Clues to North Atlantic Volcanism
Did the mantle plume that fuels Iceland’s volcanoes today cause eruptions in Ireland and Great Britain long ago? A new project investigates, while also inspiring students and recording whale songs.