In the Rush to Decarbonize, the Shipping Industry Is Exploring Alternative Fuels

The shipping industry is finally embracing greener fuels, but which one, or ones, will they land on?

Apr 24, 2024 | 1,500 words, about 7 minutes

Sponging Up Plastic Pollution

Scientists have developed synthetic sponges capable of extracting microplastics and nanoplastics from contaminated water.

Oct 5, 2023 | 900 words, about 4 minutes

The Batavia’s Story of Mutiny and Murder Gets a New Chapter

Archaeologists have unearthed new evidence of the 400-year-old bloodshed on a remote Australian island.

Aug 23, 2023 | 1,100 words, about 5 minutes

The Secrets of Ships’ Super Smooth Hulls

Scientists are searching for new coatings and treatments to make ships even faster and more efficient.

Jun 14, 2023 | 1,100 words, about 5 minutes

The Gruesome Ways Volcanoes Kill Fish

Whether the eruption is underwater or on land, fish don’t have an easy time dealing with nature’s fury.

Apr 26, 2023 | 750 words, about 3 minutes

Did Climate Change Kill This Greenlander 70 Years Ago?

In 1952, a landslide caused a tsunami that killed a Greenlandic man. Some researchers think he might have been an early victim of anthropogenic warming.

Feb 1, 2023 | 800 words, about 4 minutes

How Animals May Have Conquered Snowball Earth

We know there were animals during Earth’s chilliest era. The question is, What did they look like?

Dec 19, 2022 | 900 words, about 4 minutes

Memories of the End of the Last Ice Age, from Those Who Were There

As Earth’s ice melts once more, heed these ancient tales of land lost to the sea.

Oct 3, 2022 | 900 words, about 4 minutes

The Making of a Marine Pudding

In Ireland, a seaweed has a long culinary history, but its future lies in the hands of regular folks who enjoy a challenge.

Aug 25, 2022 | 1,500 words, about 7 minutes

What Lurks Inside Shipping Containers

Seizure-inducing methyl bromide and carcinogenic formaldehyde are only some of the poisonous chemicals scientists found inside cargo containers.

Jul 7, 2022 | 950 words, about 4 minutes

Satellite Observations Enhanced with Inuit Knowledge Chart a Changing Arctic

By incorporating traditional ecological knowledge into how he interprets satellite imagery, this scientist is giving his community sea ice news they can use.

Jan 17, 2022 | 650 words, about 3 minutes

Behold, the Deepest-Dwelling Squid Known to Science

They went looking for a war wreck 6,000 meters under the sea—and found a squid instead.

Dec 29, 2021 | 750 words, about 3 minutes

Rounding Out the Story of Three Legendary Boulders

A scientific analysis has added new details to the origin story of Makin Island’s distinctively out-of-place rocks.

Sep 29, 2021 | 800 words, about 4 minutes

The Aquaculture Industry Needs a Heat-Loving Salmon

Climate change is a huge threat to salmon farming. Scientists are on the hunt for a fish that can handle the heat.

Sep 15, 2021 | 1,000 words, about 5 minutes

Cut Off From the Ocean by a Volcanic Eruption, These Fish Had to Learn to Live in a Lake

For the past 300 years, a small population of Arctic char has been eking out an existence in a remote lake.

May 3, 2021 | 700 words, about 3 minutes

Found, Then Lost, Then Found Again: Scientists Have Rediscovered the Sand Octopus

How Brazilian fishers helped solve the riddle of a long “lost” species.

Apr 8, 2021 | 1,000 words, about 5 minutes

The Plan to Rear Fish on the Moon

To boldly farm fish where no one has farmed fish before.

Feb 22, 2021 | 800 words, about 4 minutes

The Pandemic Is Undermining Weather Monitoring

Scientists are scrambling to patch the cracks forming in the global marine weather monitoring system.

Jan 19, 2021 | 1,500 words, about 8 minutes

Riding on a Magic Carpet of Bubbles

A technology called air lubrication offers a way to make large ships more efficient.

Nov 12, 2020 | 500 words, about 2 minutes

Did a Solar Ejection Hinder the Titanic?

Space weather may have played a small role in the famed steamer’s sinking.

Sep 14, 2020 | 850 words, about 4 minutes

Clamshell Currency

For a time during the Great Depression, clamshells were golden in Pismo Beach, California.

Jul 9, 2020 | 700 words, about 3 minutes

How Low Can an Octopus Go

In 1971, scientists photographed an octopus living 5,100 meters beneath the waves. It was the deepest-dwelling octopus ever seen—until now.

Jun 29, 2020 | 600 words, about 3 minutes

The Evasive Behavior of Blue Whales

Observations of a tagged blue whale show that it may have learned to avoid ships.

Mar 11, 2020 | 700 words, about 3 minutes

Australia’s Plant Virus Sting Operation

In Australia, an experiment shows that honeybees can help scientists spot novel diseases.

Feb 12, 2020 | 600 words, about 3 minutes

A Volcano, an Earthquake, and a Typhoon Put Sea Life to the Test

Back-to-back natural disasters off the Taiwan coast give researchers the opportunity to observe adaptations to changing ocean conditions in real time.

Jan 17, 2020 | 600 words, about 3 minutes

Sunburns Can Plague Farmed Fish

Trapped near the ocean’s surface in cages or nets, farmed fish can suffer a host of problems by not being able to escape the light.

Dec 2, 2019 | 600 words, about 3 minutes

Deep-Sea Revelations

Thousands of photographs taken by a mining firm may reveal new species on the ocean floor.

Nov 27, 2019 | 650 words, about 3 minutes

The Ancient Underwater Boneyard That Tells a Dark Story

A snapshot of the sea, 75 million years ago.

Nov 8, 2019 | 1,000 words, about 5 minutes

Don’t Call Me Lobster

Charmed by the large and delicious lobster-like langoustines found in a Northern Irish market, a writer heads to the source.

Sep 19, 2019 | 1,200 words, about 6 minutes

International Fish Fights on the Rise

A new report shows that there is increasing competition between countries for access to seafood.

Jul 5, 2019 | 600 words, about 3 minutes

The Salmon that Were Born to Survive

Most salmon die after their first spawning. But not all do. Scientists call the survivors “kelts.”

Mar 28, 2019 | 1,200 words, about 6 minutes

Snapping the Snapper Snatchers

A remote camera on a nearby hill spies fishers ignoring the rules in an Australian no-take zone.

Feb 6, 2019 | 650 words, about 3 minutes

A Town on the Thames Embraces a Beluga

For three months, a wayward whale has been hanging out near Gravesend, England, and the locals are chuffed.

Dec 24, 2018 | 1,000 words, about 5 minutes

An Unexpected Hint of a Limb Found in a Fish’s Fin

By flicking a genetic switch, scientists showed how one long-dormant gene gives fish limb-like structures.

Nov 26, 2018 | 800 words, about 4 minutes

Is This Fish Self-Aware?

The cleaner wrasse appears to have passed the mirror test—a standard test of self-recognition. If the finding holds, this humble fish will join a very exclusive club.

Sep 6, 2018 | 1,000 words, about 5 minutes