Ocean Life
Revealing the Ocean’s Invisible Abundance
Finding minuscule life forms in a seemingly infinite ocean isn’t trivial. But in recent years, oceanographers have been developing new techniques and instruments to identify and count marine microorganisms. Year by year, we are learning more and more about them and discovering that they are even more numerous, varied, and important than we previously thought.
Shedding Light on Light in the Ocean
Light in the ocean is like light in no other place on Earth. It is…
Down on the Farm…Raising Fish
Aquaculture, or fish farming, is changing how we think about one of our main sources…
Life in the Arctic Ocean
Capped with a formidable ice and snow cover, plunged into total darkness during the winter,…
The Secret Lives of Fish
"We have found that otoliths of fish born in each of the five natal estuaries…
Living Large in Microscopic Nooks
Newly discovered deep-sea microbes rearrange thinking on the evolution of the Eart—and life on it.
Is Life Thriving Deep Beneath the Seafloor?
In 1991, scientists aboard the submersible Alvin were in the right spot at the right…
The Grass is Greener in the Coastal Ocean
Stretching from inland rivers and bays to the edge of the continental shelf, the coastal…
The Evolutionary Puzzle of Seafloor Life
Most of Earth's crust is manufactured at the bottom of the sea. Deep beneath the…
ALISS in Wonderland
In 1985, Cindy Van Dover, then a graduate student in biology in the MIT/WHOI Joint…
Deep-Sea Diaspora
When spectacular biological communities were first discovered at hydrothermal vents in 1977, biologists puzzled over…
Marine Snow and Fecal Pellets
Until about 130 years ago, scholars believed that no life could exist in the deep…