Birth of an Ocean: The Evolution of Ethiopia's Afar Depression. "Formation of an ocean is a rare event, one few scientists have ever witnessed. Yet this geophysical nativity is unfolding today in one of the hottest and most inhospitable corners of the globe." [Via]
posted by homunculus on Oct 2, 2008 - 26 comments

Hundreds of New Reef Creatures Found in Australia. Hundreds of new marine creatures have been discovered in three Australian reefs by CReefs, a census of coral reefs which is part of the Census of Marine Life, a ten-year initiative to assess global ocean diversity.
posted by homunculus on Sep 19, 2008 - 12 comments

The ocean gives us life. It gives us oxygen, the rain, food, excitement, wonder, and mystery. The ocean buffers the weather and helps regulate global temperature. It manages vast amounts of our pollutants, contains all kinds of amazing creatures, and supports all life on our planet. But, the ocean is just now beginning to be understood and with that understanding comes the increasing realization that the ocean is in trouble. Marine conservation efforts are outnumbered by the problems. MarineBio is here to call attention to those issues and to provide information to inspire the actions necessary to address them.
posted by netbros on Jul 9, 2008 - 9 comments

25 Weirdest Animals. See also: 24 bizarre creatures of the deep. Not responsible for nightmares related to the viperfish, the oarfish, or the star-nosed mole.
posted by bijou on Aug 20, 2007 - 63 comments

Life-size blue whale. A Flash project from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. And in other news: Secret Language of Whales Revealed! [Via MammalFilter.]
posted by homunculus on Mar 14, 2007 - 24 comments

There will be virtually nothing left to fish from the seas by the middle of the century if current trends continue, according to a major scientific study. What IS our planet going to look like in 50 years? Can there really be no more fish by then? I can't even begin to imagine this.
posted by jfwlucy on Nov 2, 2006 - 86 comments

How poeple and animals use sound in the sea
posted by persona non grata on Oct 3, 2006 - 12 comments

Where all my ships at?
posted by mr_crash_davis on Jul 15, 2006 - 33 comments

Atlantic currents show signs of weakening, according to a new study from the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton. I just hope these findings don't provoke the nightmare scenario of a sequel.
posted by homunculus on Nov 30, 2005 - 32 comments

600 arrests over Sethusamudram Ship Channel. That seemed like a lot. So I was curious about why. Turns out, they're going to dredge up the sea floor so big ships can have a short cut. Fisherfolk and others think it's probably a pretty bad idea.
posted by RedEmma on Jul 4, 2005 - 4 comments

The Starving Ocean : A large collection of articles by Debbie MacKenzie on the death of the ocean. The idea is that removing most of the fish from the sea might be sort of bad for the marine ecosystem as a whole. Her writing style is a bit kooky, but she has been right on some points (ie. the Grey Seal thing). Oh, and fishing is also responsible for the rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
posted by sfenders on Sep 14, 2004 - 10 comments

Microscopic fragments of plastic are a "major pollutant", floating in the ocean, settling on seabeds, and washing up onshore - with unknown consequences for marine ecosystems, according to a new study. "We've found this microscopic plastic material at all of the sites we've examined," [lead researcher] Dr Richard C Thompson [of University of Plymouth, UK] said. "Interestingly, the abundance is reasonably consistent. So, it suggests to us that the problem is really quite ubiquitous."
posted by mcgraw on May 7, 2004 - 15 comments

Guidelines for Low-Impact Tourism Along the Coast of Quintana Roo "Conserving the natural landscape and enhancing the scenic beauty of tourism development contributes to the high quality of coastal habitat, one of the area’s principal attractions." Warning: PDF format!
posted by johnnydark on Jan 3, 2004 - 6 comments

His name is Jean-Michel Cousteau! [dramatic chords] His father's name was Jack something, and like his father, Jean-Michel believes by working on things like Finding Nemo he, "can reach a far larger audience through entertainment in popular media than through innumerable press conferences, summits and reports. That is not to say that prestigious conferences and notable studies are irrelevant. They are critically necessary to validate the condition of the world’s oceans and bring opinion leaders together to share ideas and shape the collective political will." With this new sea-lebrity (haha! get it?), he hopes to help young people change the world. ...Well I just thought that was like totally rad and wanted to share with the virtual blue.
posted by ZachsMind on Nov 15, 2003 - 7 comments

The treasures of the sea. A fascinating look at underwater archeological sites in France. The Cosquer Cave is particularly enthralling due to the art and the difficulty in getting to it. (warning - annoying frames and popup info boxes that don't work so well in Mozilla) [More inside...]
posted by Irontom on May 29, 2003 - 2 comments

Sick sea otters on the west coast and killer seaweed in the Mediterranean, and California as well. What can we do to help save our oceans and seas?
posted by specialk420 on May 8, 2003 - 13 comments

Canada's forgotten weapons of mass destruction. Shortly after the end of World War II, the Canadian navy began to dispose of its surplus chemical weapons by dumping them off the shore of Atlantic Canada. Large quantities of chemical agents, including mustard gas, were loaded onto barges and scuttled at undisclosed locations. Over 50 years later, some of these military dumpsites have become lost due to poor record keeping. With increasing offshore oil exploration and a commercially successful shellfish industry, there's a possibility that these forgotten chemical agents could return to the coasts of "Canada's Ocean Playground".
posted by Caffine_Fiend on Jan 13, 2003 - 14 comments

The UN Atlas of the Oceans provides information on a wide range of topics relating to the world's oceans, such as geography, economic uses and environmental issues (here's a BBC article about the atlas.) Another nice site about the oceans is the Blue Planet web companion to the gorgeous Discovery/BBC TV series of the same name. Sadly, the threat to coral reefs may soon rob the oceans of some of their more spectacular biological diversity.
posted by homunculus on Jun 25, 2002 - 1 comment

The Spiegel Grove was supposed to be sunk upright, creating the largest and most accessible artificial reef ever. Cool!

Unfortunately, the ship had other ideas and now appears to be impersonating a giant turtle. One of the nation's top marine salvage outfits has been called to the rescue. Looks like a potential Discovery Channel show in the making. (Check out the pictures on the Spiegel Grove site, they're pretty cool.)
posted by groundhog on May 27, 2002 - 4 comments

Underwater Warpdrives Some naval experts believe that supercavitating systems could alter the nature of undersea warfare, changing stealthy cat-and-mouse stalking contests between large submarines into something resembling aerial combat, featuring noisy high-speed dogfights among small, short-range "subfighters" shooting underwater bullets at one another after having been launched from giant "subcarriers."
posted by hmgovt on Apr 26, 2001 - 22 comments

Damn, but this site is pretty. Nice, understated, good writing, not too much fluff, good copyediting (a weak spot on the web -- separates the women from the boys), and a design that fits on my monitor.

If you helped Free Willy, check OceanFutures out.
posted by baylink on May 22, 2000 - 5 comments