Oceans | Science News for Students

Oceans

an underwater photo of a coral reef ecosystem with brightly colored corals and fish

Corals provide the base of a unique community of ocean creatures. But ocean acidification may make it difficult for corals to build their beautiful structures.

iBorisoff/iStockphoto

Chemistry
 
Feb 28, 2019
Shell shocked: Emerging impacts of our acidifying seas
an underwater photo of a little skate

This is a little skate, a fish closely related to sharks and rays. As the oceans get more acidic, little skates may become better walkers.

Page Valentine/USGS; adapted by L. Steenblik Hwang

Animals
 
Feb 28, 2019
Ocean acidification may ground swimming skates
a photo of a building on the coast that has fallen into the ocean and cracked apart

Rising seas eroded the coastline of this resort region in Hoi An, Vietnam, causing its buildings to crack apart and start tumbling into the water. Climate change is threatening low-lying regions across the globe with similar destruction.

xuanhuongho/iStockphoto

Oceans
 
Jan 10, 2019
Climate change makes seas rise faster and faster
an aerial photo of a flooded street in Ho Chi Minh City, scooters and cars are driving through the floodwaters

Traffic keeps flowing on a flooded street in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Sea levels are rising around the world, but they are rising more quickly in some places than in others.

xuanhuongho/iStockPhoto

Weather & Climate
 
Jan 10, 2019
Explainer: Why sea levels aren't rising at the same rate globally
a scenic photo of Jamaica Bay in New York City

Looking out over Jamaica Bay in New York City. Climate change will bring more frequent storms and sea level rise. Both threaten buildings and wildlife habitat in the general area with floods.

stefko/iStockphoto

Science & Society
 
Jan 10, 2019
Building resilience to climate’s emerging impacts
a photo of huge stone statue figures at Rapa Nui, or Easter Island

These huge stone statues are at Rapa Nui, or Easter Island. This Chilean island lies 3,500 kilometers (almost 2,200 miles) west of the mainland, deep in the Pacific Ocean. The island is one of many places worldwide that are vulnerable to sea-level rise.

Babak Fakhamzadeh/Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Archaeology
 
Jan 10, 2019
Rising seas threaten thousands of world cultural sites
a photo at water level showing beachhomes on stilts next to the incoming ocean water

The beach that used to be in front of these North Carolina homes has eroded away. Such land loss can eventually undermine and destroy the buildings.

summersetretrievers/iStockphoto

Oceans
 
Jan 10, 2019
How three coastal communities are dealing with rising seas
a computer generated image of an iceberg on the ocean at night

It’s dark during the Arctic winter. The sun doesn’t rise for days or even months. But scientists are learning that all is not quiet in the Arctic night (seen here in an illustration). There’s a months-long party happening under the sea.

bestdesigns/iStockPhoto

Ecosystems
 
Jan 3, 2019
Welcome to the Arctic’s all-night undersea party
robo-jellyfish

A soft and squishy robo-jellyfish pumps its way gently through the ocean, providing little or no disturbance to local sea life.

Jennifer Frame, Nick Lopez, Oscar Curet and Erik D. Engeberg/IOP Publishing

Robotics
 
Dec 18, 2018
This robotic jellyfish is a climate spy
a computer generated image of what the Ocean Cleanup system will look like floating in the North Pacific

This computer rendering shows what the 600-meter-long (2,000-foot) Ocean Cleanup system will look like floating in the North Pacific. Currents will push on the boom to form a u-shape. The system is designed to trap bits of plastic that boats can collect later.

The Ocean Cleanup

Pollution
 
Oct 8, 2018
Enormous floating barrier will corral ocean trash