Oceanography
Oceanography is the study of the oceans as ecological systems. In this section, learn about topics like currents, deep-sea research or how rogue waves work.
Worldwide Droughts Uncover Ancient Relics, Ruins and Remains
Mudlarkers Pull Historical Artifacts Out of Riverbank Muck
Ohio's Serpent Mound Is an Archaeological Mystery
Lava Isn't the Only Dangerous Aspect of Volcanoes
This Sacred Quarry Is a Cornerstone of Native American Spirituality
Why Is the Thwaites Glacier Called the 'Doomsday Glacier'?
What Is the Mohorovicic Discontinuity and Can Humans Ever Reach It?
Time Is Up for the Leap Second
The 9 Longest Rivers in the World: From the Nile to the Congo
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You might be surprised at how little of the world's oceans scientists have investigated.
The ocean is so deep, it puts the height of Mount Everest to shame.
By Mark Mancini
The SWOT satellite is a collaboration between NASA and the French space agency. Its mission is to measure how much water is on Earth and where the water is going.
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According to Guinness World Records, the waves in Nazaré, Portugal, are the biggest ever surfed. Scientists attribute the massive waves to an underwater canyon, but how does it work?
By Dylan Ris
The waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet at the tip of Cape Horn and never the two shall mix, right?
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, plays an essential role in regulating ocean temperatures, but it looks as if it may be collapsing. What happens next?
The climate crisis is messing with the water cycle. Some places are getting way too much, while others aren't getting any water at all. We'll explain.
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The Southern Ocean has finally been officially recognized, though scientists have known about it for over a century.
Pancake ice is fun and rare in some places, but it might be speeding up the warming of the ocean in the Arctic.
In honor of World Oceans Day today, we're paying tribute to the vast and mighty Pacific Ocean, which covers 30 percent of our planet's surface.
By Mark Mancini
Anyone who's been to the ocean has probably seen the foamy white stuff that clings to the sand after a wave breaks and recedes, but what the heck causes that bubbly foam and is it dangerous?
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NOAA's Argo program distributes floating observatories across the globe. Why? They collect data about the world's oceans that is critical to understanding the planet.
If it looks like a party is on, maybe they'll come back. Playing the sounds of a noisy, healthy coral reef can attract important fish species to devastated reef habitats.
EXXpedition founder Emily Penn will captain the 300, all-female crew in its first Round the World sailing voyage.
Cross seas may looks super cool. But you never want to get caught up in the grid-patterned waves they generate.
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Sealab was a U.S. Navy program that allowed undersea divers to go deeper and stay underwater longer. So why did it disappear?
The super-cool phenomenon of tidal bores happens in only a few places on the globe, and it takes a very specific set of conditions to occur.
By Mark Mancini
Around 90 percent of an iceberg is under the water, but changing weight distribution caused by melting can make it flip.
All that seashell collecting you've been doing actually hurts the environment.
By Mark Mancini
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Harmful algal blooms wreak havoc in oceans around the world and occur nearly every summer along the coastline of Florida.
He might be the most important scientist you've never heard of, but the ocean current that bears his name helped shape the development of evolutionary theory.
Blue whales are the largest mammal ever known to exist on Earth. So what makes these creatures so huge?
Ocean water is not actually blue, but appears in different shades for many reasons.
By Amanda Onion
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Water covers about 71 percent of Earth's surface, but do you know the difference between an ocean and a sea? And which ocean is the smallest?
By Amanda Onion
Ever wondered what's the difference between a river, a stream, a brook and a tributary?
By Amanda Onion