From the mightiest river to the deepest spots in Earth's oceans, our aquatic ecosystems hold many secrets waiting for us to dive in and discover. Live Science keeps you updated on the latest underwater research and delivers extraordinary facts and images from our planet's rivers and oceans, past and present. So if you want to discover the largest ocean that's ever existed on Earth, the mysterious "dark river" that may flow hundreds of miles beneath Greenland or breathtaking images from our oceans, Live Science's expert writers and editors are here for you with the latest news, features and articles about rivers and oceans.
Discover more about rivers and oceans
—The Congo River Basin: Home of the deepest river in the world
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Building a massive dam between Alaska and Russia could prevent AMOC collapse, scientists sayBuilding a dam in the Bering Strait might preserve the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, but experts warn it could also threaten wildlife, Indigenous people and shipping — and could actually speed up its demise.
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'A completely new reality': Bolder measures are needed to prevent extreme water shortages in cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas that depend on the Colorado RiverCities fed by the Colorado River have taken huge steps to reduce their water consumption over the past few decades, yet water shortages are projected to grow more intense. What can be done?
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'Iran's Maldives' could drown in oil due to spills from air strikes, satellites showAir strikes on oil facilities and oil tankers in the Persian Gulf have unleashed what is set to become an ecological catastrophe, satellite images show.
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Glowing ring of plankton surrounding New Zealand islands linked to deadly underwater plateauEarth from space A recent satellite photo captured a gleaming halo of phytoplankton encircling the remote Chatham Islands. The stunning sight is the result of a hidden underwater structure, which has also helped kill hundreds of cetaceans.
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Colorado River may have pooled and spilled over to form the Grand Canyon, solving a long-standing mystery — but not everyone agreesThe Colorado River muscled its way through today's Grand Canyon after pooling as a giant lake, according to new research.
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Scientists discover potentially huge freshwater reservoir hidden beneath Great Salt LakeResearchers have found a layer of fresh water beneath Utah's Great Salt Lake that reaches up to 2.5 miles deep and could turn out to be as big, or bigger, than the lake.
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Lençóis Maranhenses: Brazil's dune-filled expanse that sits at the intersection of 3 biomesLençóis Maranhenses National Park hosts sand-dune fields that fill up with lagoons every wet season, but the reserve also has mangrove swamps where species such as the scarlet ibis thrive.
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Colorado River negotiations have stalled among 7 states and water is scarce. What happens next?Two researchers explore how water rights for the Colorado river get negotiated and why these negotiations have stalled.
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Extreme blast of Arctic air from polar vortex paints a picturesque plume off Florida coastEarth from space A recent satellite photo captured a stunning scene of sediment swirling across the West Florida Shelf after an extreme cold snap that covered large parts of the eastern U.S. in snow.
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