Articles on Oceans

Displaying 161 - 180 of 926 articles

A firefighting plane dumps water on one of the fires in the Los Angeles area in January 2025. Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Firefighting planes are dumping ocean water on the Los Angeles fires − why using saltwater is typically a last resort

In emergencies, dumping ocean water on fires may be the best option. But seawater can have long-term effects on equipment and ecosystems, as a novel coastal experiment shows.
Scanning electron microscope image of marine fungus Paradendryphiella salina, collected from the shoreline near Plymouth in Devon. Beth Tindall-Jones/University of Exeter Bioimaging Centre.

Meet the fungi that live in the sea

Despite being known to science for over a century thanks to a few early pioneering marine mycologists, most people have never heard of marine fungi.
Measurements were taken from on board the royal research ship Discovery as it travelled through the North Atlantic Ocean. Daniel Ford

How we discovered that the ocean’s surface absorbs much more CO₂ than previously thought

A thin layer at the ocean surface called the “ocean skin” increases CO₂ uptake by about 7%. That’s equivalent to the CO₂ absorbed by the entire Amazon rainforest each year.
A consequence of dredging deep channels is that water also enters more easily with tides and storm surge. Google Earth

Coastal cities have a hidden vulnerability to storm‑surge and tidal flooding − entirely caused by humans

Some cities are building huge gates and barriers to counter the flood risk from estuary urbanization. But putting nature to work in a big way might be more effective.
Atmospheric rivers are long filaments of moisture that curve poleward. Several are visible in this satellite image. Bin Guan, NASA/JPL-Caltech and UCLA

Atmospheric rivers are shifting poleward, reshaping global weather patterns

These powerful ‘rivers in the sky’ provide a huge share of annual precipitation in many regions, including California. They can also melt sea ice, with global climate implications.
Satellite data shows Hurricane Milton on Oct. 8, 2024, as it moves across the Gulf of Mexico. NOAA

Hurricane Milton explodes into a powerful Category 5 storm as it heads for Florida − here’s how rapid intensification works

Milton’s fast spin-up in the Gulf of Mexico was one of the most rapid intensifications on record. Two scientists who study hurricanes explain why this happens and what’s changing.

Top contributors

More