Oceans & Seas

The oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth's surface. They are critical to all life, and differentiate the Earth from most other planets in the known universe. The oceans are connected by a continuous flowing circulation current which plays a major role in driving Earth's climate.

Origins of the Oceans:

Origin of Earth's oceans

Our oceans' cosmic origins

Oceans arrived early to Earth

Earth Oceans Were Homegrown

Planet Earth makes its own water 

What's up at the bottom of the ocean?

Did Earth's oceans come from comets?

New light shed on the origin of Earth's water

Reconstructing the richness of pristine oceans

Astronomers looking for clues to water's origins

Scientists solve a 14,000-year-old ocean mystery

Scientists theorize new origin story for Earth's water

Astronomers finally find the answer to Earth's water mystery

Earth's water came from space dust during planetary formation

Could asteroids have supplied enough water to fill Earth's oceans?

New questions on how the Earth's atmosphere and oceans formed  

Projectile cannon experiments show how asteroids can deliver water

Fresh evidence for how water reached Earth found in asteroid debris

The devolution of the seas - the consequences of oceanic destruction

How did Earth get water? Scientists think they've solved longstanding mystery

ALMA traces history of water in planet formation back to the interstellar medium

Ocean Dynamics:

Sea change

Virtual Ocean

Ocean color web

The ocean below

If the Earth stood still

Perpetual Ocean video

Teaching Oceanography

New spin on ocean's role

Forecast ocean variability

The ocean's sensitive skin

The biological carbon pump

How variable are ocean temperatures? 

Deep oceans warming at alarming rate

Ocean oxygen levels drop 2% in 50 years

Why trace metals cling to the ocean's skin 

Oceans   Currents    Gyres   Upwelling

Toxic oceans may have delayed spread of complex life

How well-connected is the surface of the global ocean?

Machine learning identifies links between world's oceans

New study identifies thermometer for the past global ocean 

Unsupervised learning reveals geography of global ocean dynamical regions

New research shows how melting ice is affecting supplies of nutients to the sea

The modulation of oceanic moisture transport by the hemispheric annular modes   

Study proposes link between formation of supercontinents, strength of ocean tides

Ocean connections: an introduction to rising risks from a warming, changing ocean

Scripps Oceanography unveils research simulator to study ocean/atmoshere exchanges          

Ocean Mixing from Waves, Tides & Biology:

Creating waves that are frozen in time

Star-shaped waves spotted in shaken fluid

The ocean's hidden waves show their power

Scientists track speed of powerful internal waves

Breaking internal tides keep the ocean in balance

Analyzing ocean mixing reveals insight on climate

Modeling tides and vertical tidal mixing: A reality check

When winds and curents align, ocean mixing goes deep

Clues from the sea paint a picture of Earth's water cycle

Tiny creatures may play a difficult-to-detect role in ocean mixing

The ocean is still sucking up carbon - maybe more than we think 

Breaking deep-sea waves reveal mechanism for global ocean mixing

Mathematics and the ocean: movement, mixing and climate modelling

Analysis and interpretation of frequency-wave number spectra of young wind waves

Dissecting the ocean's unseen waves to learn where the heat, energy and nutrients go

Ocean tides and Earth's rotation - a high-resolving ocean model forced by the lunisolar tidal potential 

Ocean eddy currents:  

Eddies

Chasing the black holes of the ocean

Mesoscale ocean eddies impact weather

Coherent Lagrangian vortices: the black holes of turbulence

Ocean eddy currents funnel extreme heat and cold to the life-filled depths

Ocean Biodiversity & Health:

Ocean Health Index 

The future of the sea

UNESCO's ocean project

Video interview part 1    part 2

The UN World Ocean Assessment

Oceans suffering from sea sickness

IPCC report - what's in it for Africa?

IPCC report - what's in it for South Asia?

IPCC report - what's in it for Latin America?

See human impact in an X-ray of the ocean

Ocean Obseriving System report card 2020

Nature study highlights many paths to ocean health

The science & technology that can help save the ocean

The state of the ocean 2013: perils, prognoses and perils

Scientists discover nearly 200,000 types of ocean viruses

Oxygen-starved oceans can take a million years to recover

Satellite ocean colour: current status and future perspective

How much hydrogen is consumed by ocean-floor microbes?

Threat from oxygen loss in oceans left off table in Paris talks

Scientists to measure impact of volcanic ash on ocean biology

An introduction to rising risks from a warming, changing ocean

Scripps researcher helps raise deep concerns about deep sea

From decline to recovery: a rescue package for the global ocean

Decline in global oceanic oxygen content during the past five decades

Earth's oceans could look completely different by the end of the century

Global change and the future of ocean: a grand challenge for marine sciences

The ocean is in trouble and current global commitments aren't enough to save it

Functions of global ocean microbiome key to understanding environmental changes

Ocean currents push phytoplankton and pollution around the globe faster than thought

Ocean Monitoring, Measuring and Mapping:

Argos floats

Mapping salty waters

Filling the gaps in ocean maps

GOOS: Global Ocean Observing System

Ocean observing system report card 2023

A bright, LED-lit future for ocean sciences

Sea Ice Historical Forecast Project (Ice-HFP)

Decoding material fluxes in the tropical ocean

The Digital Ocean: our next information frontier

Assessing ocean changes without data centers

Deep floats reveal complex ocean circulation patterns

Engineers hand 'cognitive' control to underwater robots

Clues from the sea paint a picture of the Earth's water cycle

Need for monitoring and maintaining sustainable marine ecosystem services

Computational acoustics in oceanography: the research role of sound field simulations

Global in situ observations of essential climate and ocean variables at the air-sea interface

Warming of the oceans:

Extreme heat in the oceans is out of control

Observational needs of sea surface temperature

Ocean temperatures faithfully recorded in mother-of-pearl

Oceans and ice are absorbing the brunt of climate change

The recent normalization of histoorical marine heat extremes

Ancient pool of warm water questions current climate models

How to monitor global ocean warming- without harming whales

'Ice Age blob' of warm ocean water discovered south of Greenland

Tracking 'marine heatwaves' since 1950 and how 'the blob' stacks up

Lab experiments question popular measurements of ancient ocean temperatures

Scientists have just detected a major change to the Earth's oceans linked to a warming climate

Sailing through changing oceans: ocean and polar life and environmental sciences on a warming planet

The Oceans and Climate Change:

Oceans and climate

The carbon dioxide loop

The deep blue sea is getting bluer

Can we predict the future of ocean CO2 uptake?

Ocean circulation rethink solves climate conundrum

Surface of the ocean affects climate more than thought

Ocean spray: an outsized influence on weather & climate

Northern seas once pumped CO2 into Earth's atmosphere

Invisible barrier on ocean surface can reduce carbon uptake

The ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate - IPCC report

How oceans could change if we reverse anthropogenic warming

National security implications of climate change for U.S. naval forces

Ocean's most oxygen-deprived zones to shrink under climate change

Ocean acidification: present conditions and future changes in a high CO2 world

Massive study is first to explore historical ocean response to abrupt climate change

Smothered oceans: extreme oxygen loss in oceans accompanied past global climate change

Scientists discover link between climate change and ocean currents during last 6 million years

Ocean chemistry:

Salinity matters

How ocean chemistry affects climate change    

Climate change will upset vital ocean chemical cycles

'Chemical atlas' provides unique understanding of ocean geochemistry

Using atmospheric potential oxygen to gain insight into climate drivers of ocean biogeochemistry

The chemical memory of seawater: biomolecules dissolved in the ocean like a history book of the sea

Surface ocean distribution of bromoform & methyl iodide: boundary layer physics, chemistry and climate

Vertical distribution of coccolithophores PIC, POC, biogenic silica, chlorophyll throughout the global ocean 

Ocean Methane:

Methane Escape Research

Ocean Oxygen:

Respiratory disorder in the ocean

Geologists confirm oxygen levels of ancient oceans

Jurassic drop in ocean oxygen lasted a million years

Ancient ocean deoxygenation provides an urgent warning

A Looming Oxygen Crisis and Its Impact on World Oceans    

Ocean Acidification:

Ocean acidification

Ocean Acidification in deep time

Ocean acidification: hard to digest

Watch ocean acidification in real time

Earliest life emerged in mildly acidic oceans

Smithsonian description of ocean acidification

Ocean acidification rate may be unprecedented

New challenges for ocean acidification research

Scientists analyse the extent of ocean acidification

Comprehensive study makes key findings of ocean pH variations

Oceans aciidifying faster than thay have in the past 300 mllion years

Ocean acidification research should increase focus on species' ability to adapt

First evidence of ocean acidification affecting live marine creatures in the Southern Ocean

The Sea Floor:

Seabed 2030

Seabed lithology

GPlates webportal

Mapping the ocean floor

Touring the ocean bottom

A name directory for the ocean floor

NOAA Marine Geology & Geophysics

Mapping the deep: a new age of exploration

New information about sub-seafloor structure

Mapping marine landscapes in the deep ocean

Large submarine landslides on continental slopes

One-fifth of Earth's ocean floor is now mapped out

General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO)

Census of seafloor sediments in the world's oceans

The sea floor is dissolving, thanks to human activity

The unseen man-made 'tracks' on the deep ocean floor 

The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean v4.0

Scientific mission will explore one of the deepest ocean trenches

Mariana Trench, seven miles deep, the ocean is still a noisy place

New global analysis reveals amount of sediment on the ocean floor

A deep mantle origin for the primitive signature of ocean island basalt

ASccidental implosion yields new measurement for oicean's deepest point

Why the first complete map of the ocean floor is stirring controversial waters

Seamounts as conduits for massive fluid, heat and solute fluxes on ridge flanks

New digital seafloor geology map uses artificial intelligence and big data to boost understanding of seafloor

MH370 search reveals hidden undersea world    The data behind the search for MH370

The Ocean Economy:

Sea Around Us

EEZ (Wikipedia) 

Valuing the ocean

Catlin seaview survey

UN World Ocean Assessment

UN Exclusive Economic Zones

The deepest dig - ocean mining

US IOOS ocean enterprise industry study

Seabed mining could destroy ecosystems

A clearer future for underwater exploration

Global merchant fleet - number of ships by type

Building a blue economy - part 1     Part 2     Part 3

Scientists caution against exploitation of deep ocean

Achieving a safe and just future for he ocean economy

Satellite oceanography data producers and users connect

Oceans may be large, overlooked source of hydrogen gas

Scientists' perspectives on global ocean research priorities

A new threat to oceans: deep-sea mining for precious metals

WWF: Reviving the ocean economy: the case for action - 2015

Deep-sea mining may have deep economic, environmental impacts

Warming of the oceans and implications for the (re)insurance industry

US business activity in ocean measurement, observation and forecasting       

Protecting the deep sea: a call for balancing mining and ecosystem protection

Ocean solutions to address climate change and its effects on marine ecosystems

Where iron and water mix: hydrothermal vents a significant source of iron in the oceans 

Study of the potential ompact of polymetallic nodules production on the economies of land-based producers
  
Marine reserves, hydrographic organizations and UN Conventions:

Woods Hole Research Center

International Hydrographic Organization

UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

Evolving science of marine reserves: new developments

Scripps scientists explore the mysteries and challenges of the deep sea 

New UK national centre covers marine science from the coast to the deep ocean     

REGIONAL OCEANS & SEAS:

Pacific Ocean:

The long memory of the Pacific Ocean

A journey down the East Australian Current

Microfossils illuminate ancient ocean currents

Tropical Pacific Observing System project 2020

Study explains Pacific equatorial cold water region

East of Japan, upper ocean waves follow a seasonal cycle

Physical drivers of the summer 2019 North Pacific marine heatwave

Deep-sea streaming: 500-mile NEPTUNE cabling brings Internet to the ocean floor

Ocean Observatories Initiatives: cable array brings the ocean to your living room 24/7

Underwater lab: UW researchers install 14 miles of cable, acmeras, sensors on ocean floor

SPCZ zonal events and downstream infkluence on surface ocean cconditions in the Indonesian Throughflow region

North America:

Gulf of Alaska:

Massive amounts of fresh water, glacial melt pouring into Gulf of Alaska

Salish Sea:

The state of the Salish Sea

Perceptions of change in Puget Sound

Atlantic Ocean:

Multiple drivers of the North Atlantic warming hole

Northwest Atlantic Ocean may get warmer, sooner

Aluminium in an ocean GCM compared with West Atlantic geotraces cruises

Sea surface temperature reaches record highs on US northeast continental shelf

Caribbean Sea:

Caribbean Sea acts like a whistle which can be 'heard' from space

Sargasso Sea:

Big changes in the Sargasso Sea

Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS)

Adaptive carbon export response to warming in the Sargossa Sea

Europe:

Euopean public perception of marine climate change

Baltic Sea:

Nordic seas cooled 500,000 years before global oceans

Research programme to achieve an improved understanding of the Earth System for the Baltic Sea region

Mediterranean Sea:

Italy's 'smart bay' seeks to tackle Mediterranean climate change

Growing Antarctic ice sheet caused ancient Mediterranean to dry up

Early Holocene Eastern Mediterranean ocean climate and the stability of its overturning circulation

Central Asia:

Aral Sea:

The future of the Aral Sea lies in transboundary cooperation

Indian Ocean:

Geopolitics and the Indian Ocean

Future Indian Ocean warming patterns

The data behind the search for MH370

Marine forecasting on the horizon for Indian Ocean Rim

There is a 'gravity hole' in the Indian Ocean, and scientists now think they know why

Origin of Indian Ocean Seamount Province by shallow recycling of continental lithosphere

 

Southern Circumpolar Ocean:

What kind of iron is in the Southern Ocean?

Massive Southern Ocean current discovered

In the Southern Ocean, a CO2 mystery comes clear

Antarctic bottom waters freshening at unexpected rate

The International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean

New discovery of how carbon is stored in the Southern Ocean

The global influence of localized dynamics in the Southern Ocean

Notorious Southern Ocean current far stronger than previously thought

Latest Southern Ocean research shows continuing deep ocean change

Miixing it up: study provides new insight into Southern Ocean behaviour

Southern Ocean anthropenic carbon sink constrained by sea surface salinity

Arctic Ocean:

A 'regime shift' is happening in the Arctic Ocean