Ocean

Find out everything there is to know about the ocean and stay updated on the latest oceanic news with the comprehensive articles, interactive features and beautiful images of the ocean at LiveScience.com. Learn more about the Earth's oceans as scientists continue to make amazing discoveries about our largest bodies of water.

Related Topics: Sharks, Whales, Jellyfish, Global Warming

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Tropical islands and atolls in Maldives from aerial view.

Scientists on a Sailboat Just Found Nearly 200,000 Viruses Hiding in Earth's Oceans

By Rafi Letzter published

The boat, named the Tara, has given scientists an unprecedented, detailed map of viruses in the marine ecosystem.

At the beginning of the Quaternary period, glaciers crept down from Greenland to coveThis photo shows a glacier in North Greenland.

Greenland's Ice Sheet Was Growing. Now It's in a Terrifying Decline

By Rafi Letzter published

Greenland's ice sheet has undergone a stunning reversal in the last 46 years, as a meticulous new study documents.

An image on the left shows the iced-over Bering Sea this time of year in 2014. On the right is the Bering Sea melted as of Sunday, March 31.

The Bering Sea Should Be Frozen Right Now. It Isn't.

By Rafi Letzter published

We're witnessing a catastrophic shift in our planet's sea ice. Here's what the latest chapter means for you.

Great white shark camera

Shark's-Eye-View Video Captures Epic Seal Chase Through Kelp Forest

By Laura Geggel published

Stunning new video footage shows great white sharks hunting seals — all from the huge predator's perspective. The sharks were fitted with video cameras that recorded some surprising behaviors.

A ctenophore in the genus <em>Mnemiopsis</em>.

Sometimes This Comb Jelly Has An Anus. And Sometimes It Doesn't.

By Mindy Weisberger published

Like a rainbow, the anus of a comb jelly is a fleeting thing.

Your Dumb Party Balloons Are Killing All the Seabirds

By Mindy Weisberger published

The biggest threat to seabirds isn't plastic straws. It's balloons.

Dramatic Moment Shark Clamps Jaws Down on Parrotfish Captured in Exhilarating Photo

By Mindy Weisberger published

A parrotfish in peril won a prominent photo prize.

Underwater Photography of the Year 2019

Photos of Colorful, Majestic Marine Creatures Are 'A Visual Feast'

By Christine Lunsford published

Photographers from around the world competed to take home the top prizes in the 2019 Underwater Photographer of the Year contest.

boiling oceans earth

Could Earth's Oceans Ever Boil Away?

By Adam Mann published

When will the end come for the oceans?

The red circles on this map represent seismic events, which helped floating "MERMAIDs" determine the shape of the magma under the islands.

Floating Robots Spotted a Huge Plume of Magma Under the Galápagos

By Rafi Letzter published

The discovery could help explain why the Earth isn't a huge ball of ice.

Pirate shipwreck

In Photos: Pirate Ship Discovered in the UK

By Tom Metcalfe published

The ship sank in a storm in 1684 off Dollar Cove in the Gunwalloe district of Cornwall's Lizard Peninsula.

The submersible for the Five Deeps Expedition during its testing.

Explorer Reaches the Deepest Point in the Atlantic Ocean

By Yasemin Saplakoglu published

Having traversed the tops of the world, he's now going deep.

A series of ultrasound images shows a shark embryo swimming from one uterus to another.

These Baby Sharks Swim from One Uterus to Another to Eat Their Unfertilized Siblings

By Rafi Letzter published

The little sharks swim around inside their mom, switching between her multiple uteruses. When they get hungry they eat her unfertilized eggs.

California waves

Monster Waves Are Battering the West Coast. Here's Why.

By Rafi Letzter published

Deadly waters are churning up and down the West Coast of the U.S. today, caused by a storm system originating close to Alaska.

In the 1940s, Navy scientists were forbidden from sharing key oceanographic data, such as bathymetric measurements, with scientists who lacked a security clearance. Here, the bathymetry of Mona Passage from the U.S. Geological Survey.

US Navy's Secrecy Likely Stalled Ocean Science Progress for Decades

By Mindy Weisberger published

When the U.S. Navy classified vital seafloor data during World War II and after, it delayed the development of a key theory.

How Do Animals Breathe Underwater?

By Mindy Weisberger published

Fish do it. So do jellyfish, starfish and sea cucumbers.

Ridiculously Tiny Baby Octopus Riding Ocean Trash Is So, So Smol

By Mindy Weisberger published

Marvel at the cuteness of a pea-size baby octopus.

Great white

Great White Sharks Gather in Droves in the Middle of Nowhere, But Why?

By Kimberly Hickok published

The White Shark Café, a deserted area in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, is also a delightful buffet for the ocean's largest predatory fish.

Where does all the water go that seems to get sucked into Thor's Well along the Oregon coast.

'Thor's Well' Seems to Drain to the Underworld in Incredible Photo (Here’s Why)

By Stephanie Pappas published

The ocean seems to disappear into Oregon's rocky coastline.

Clouds Over Arctic Ocean

There's a Huge 'Archive' of Heat Hiding Under Earth's Arctic Ice

By Rafi Letzter published

Thanks to climate change, extra heat has penetrated deep into the ocean. And underwater currents have pulled it north, where it's hiding under the Arctic ice.