Spotlight: The Miraculous Corals We Could Lose to the Climate Emergency

Coral reefs are among the miracles in our planet's remarkable ocean. They're symbiotic communities of living organisms, a true marvel of biological processes. But their survival is severely threatened by climate change. Here's what we're losing, from whip corals to fan corals to stony corals to lophelia corals to coral species that haven't even been …

Pic o’ the Week: Rockfish in Coccolithophore Bloom

Image © Andrew McCurdy It looks like a watercolor painting but it's a real underwater pic! Here's how the photographer describes getting the shot:  " I spent a while in the shallows with these shy but curious Black Rockfish. I had to sit on the bottom and hold my breath for them to come closer …

Pic o’ the Week: Lions Mane Nudie

Lions mane nudibranch {Melibe leonina} © Bruce Sudweeks "Don’t get this guy confused with Lion's Mane mushroom, as these nudibranchs are probably far less tasty." "The lion's mane nudibranch (Melibe leonina), has an anatomy that is unique from other nudibranchs. Instead of a rasping tongue, it has an expandable oral hood that resembles a lion's …

Pic o’ the Week: Nature’s Light in Dark Times

Aurora jellies in fjord outside Tromsø, northern Norway. Photo © Audun Rikardsen “Surrounded by darkness yet enfolded in light” ~ Alan Brennert It seems dark in so many ways ... quite literally in the northern hemisphere in the depths of winter, and figuratively around the globe as war and violence rage in Ukraine, Gaza and …

Dawn on Our Remarkable Ocean Planet

We live on a remarkable ocean planet. Notice it. Treasure it. Do something every

Pic o’ the Week: Ocean Beauty on the Beach

In these tumultuous times take time every day to notice beauty in our natural world. Image via Beach4Art Here, a holiday wreath made with elements from the ocean Pray and work for peace everywhere on our remarkable ocean planet

Pic o’ the Week: Microscopic Monster in the Sea

Life among the ghouls and goblins of Halloween season may be harrowing but it’s no better in the watery world of our ocean’s microscopic plankton. Consider the Phronima sedentaria

Pic o’ the Week: Whip Coral Shrimp

Whip coral shrimp, Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia. Photo © David Curry Grand prize winner Through Your Lens category, Scuba Diving Magazine Photo Contest 2023 At first glance it looks like a wreath of exquisite orange and yellow spring flowers. But look closer -- notice the long light green fronds in the bottom right? That's a tiny …

Pic o’ the Week: “like a galaxy crashed with the ocean”

“This is the most amazing discovery in my lifetime! It feels like I’ve discovered a rare treasure,” Andreea Baker exclaimed about seeing these seastars in a mussel shell. Baker happened upon this wondrous ocean sight while walking along the Oregon coast near Cannon Beach. We were visiting Indian Beach Oregon on my 37th birthday. We …

Spotlight: The Ocean Crisis & One Thing YOU Can Do

As climate change heats up our planet's remarkable ocean and the teeming life in its waters is incredibly stressed and dies off, we must witness what we're losing. There are entire universes of life below the blue-gray surface that we see when we look out at our ocean. They are dying rapidly. Our oceans are …

Notable Ocean Quotable: Our Fate and the Oceans

Each of us can make a difference for our planet's remarkable ocean, which supports all life on earth. America's national treasure, marine biologist and explorer extraordinaire, Sylvia Earle, has been a relentless voice of inspiration, encouraging us all to do what we can where we are to learn about the wonders of our marine planet and to support ocean exploration and conservation

World Ocean Day: Another World

"The sea is as near as we come to another world."~ Anne Stevenson "Cruising for the ladies on his decked out ride, a male Argonaut riding around on a pretty Jellyfish" ~Steven Kovacs, ocean photographer extraordinaire Photo location: Blackwater dive off Anilao, Philippines #ikelite

Pic o’ the Week: Cardigan Bay’s Dolphin Surprise

Pwllheli Harbour, Cardigan Bay, Wales. Photo © Rhys Jones Welsh photographer Rhys Jones has been snapping pictures with his drone around the Welsh shores of Cardigan Bay for two years. Recently his drone caught this view of the Pwllheli harbor and Jones was surprised: "Once seen it it cannot be unseen ... In all my …

Pic o’ the Week: Sea Angels Among Us

Clione limacina, photo ©Alexander Semenov With their winged appearance and translucent bodies, it's easy to see why these pelagic gastropods, Clione limacina, are commonly called sea angels. They're actually related to sea slugs and sea snails, and they live in ocean surface waters down into deep waters. Despite their angelic good looks, they're fierce predators …

Pic o’ the Week: Jellyfish ‘Satellite of Life’ in a Zooplankton Bloom

A juvenile fish and a jellyfish amid a zooplankton bloom, off the Shetland Islands, Atlantic Ocean. Photo © Henley Spiers, courtesy Hakai Magazine A jelly swims amid a zooplankton bloom, its tentacles providing shelter for juvenile fish. As photographer Henley Spiers said, "The bloom also attracted these fish that I observed using a jellyfish as …

Spotlight: Starfish Tracks in the Nitinat Canyon

Image by Christopher Mah, from NOAA's Okeanos research vessel in the Nitinat Canyon, Pacific Ocean Zoom in on the photo and realize that all those tiny holes and dents on the right side of the starfish are actually starfish footprints! Or podia prints, to be biologically precise.While NOAA's ocean exploration vessel Okeanos was recently plying …

Pic o’ the Week: Starry Veliger Larvae

Veliger larvae. Photo © Ryo Minemizu "Behold the mesmerizing beauty of veliger larvae, tiny creatures that seem to have captured the stars and created their own night sky in the depths of the ocean!  These beautiful beings are the larval stage of many marine gastropods, including conchs, sea slugs, and snails.They typically have a translucent …

Pic o’ the Week: Deepest Fish Ever Recorded

This otherworldly juvenile snailfish (genus Pseudoliparis) with a frilly fin and no scales was filmed by researchers a whopping 8,336 meters deep -- that's more than five miles down -- in the Pacific Ocean's Izu-Ogasawara Trench south of Japan.This remarkable sighting by team of researchers with the University of Western Australia's Deep Sea Research Centre …

Marine Blog Recommendations

Mia's Marine Blog

I’m sure many readers would like to learn more about what’s going on in the world of marine science, but it can be hard to know where to start. With a sea (pun intended) of knowledge out there, one might find themself overwhelmed. In this post I will share two wordpress blogs that I would recommend following to keep you updated on all things marine, from fun ocean stories to scientific papers!  

Oceanwire

^{Image from Oceanwire’s Pic o’ the Week: Brittle Stars on Moon Jelly post. Original photograph taken by Andrea Marshall.}

This blog is a great place for beginners to learn about interesting phenomena of the ocean and look at cute pictures of sea creatures! Oceanwire, founded by a former NOAA fellow and Yale graduate, is extremely user-friendly. Its content is split up into a variety of categories including Notable Ocean Quotables, where profound quotes about the…

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Spotlight: ‘Tis the Season … for Firefly Squid

Spring in the northern hemisphere brings an ocean marvel of bioluminescence to the shores of Japan ... masses of hotaru-ika, glowing Firefly squid! Toyama Bay, Japan Firefly squid {Watasenia scintillans}, also called Sparkling Enope Squid, are deep sea cephalopods that sometimes come to the ocean's surface to catch prey at night. And in a dazzling …

Anemone Bouquet for the Equinox

To celebrate the vernal equinox and the start of spring in the northern hemisphere ... and the autumnal equinox in the southern hemisphere ... here's a bouquet of beautiful, flower-like anemones from NOAA Ocean Exploration, the Ocean Agency's Ocean Image Bank, Cinzia Osele Bismarck, and Greg Piper."But don’t be fooled – you won’t find sea …

Pic o’ the Week: Salmon Hatch With ‘Lunch Bags’ Attached

King Alevin Salmon hatchlings, Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, Issaquah, Washington, USA. Photo by Amy Gulick Salmon are a true wonder of our remarkable ocean planet. The salmon life cycle is an intricate eight-stage marvel of growth and round-trip migration. When salmon eggs hatch, tiny alevin emerge with yolk sacs attached. Alevin stay in their gravel steambed …

Pic o’ the Week: Gummy Squirrel in the Pacific Ocean

It's a slug, it's an alien ... it's a Gummy Squirrel! Yes -- it's a sea creature!This sea cucumber, aka gummy squirrel {Psychropotes longicauda}, was spotted by the NOAA Okeanos research vessel crew at 5,100 meters (3.2 miles) depth while exploring abyssal sediments in the western Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the central Pacific Ocean. This gummy …

Pic o’ the Week: Brrrrr! Icy Sharks Appear in Michigan

Some lucky people in the US state of Michigan were treated to a rare site -- sharks! ... in landlocked Madison Heights, a Detroit suburb. In the midst of a frozen midwinter landscape, artist Jennifer Ramirez said she "Took a break from drawing for a little while today. Got some sharks started" ... and voilà …

Spotlight: Ocean Exploration Day

"A day to celebrate the wonder of & need for deep-sea research and exploration. To manage, sustainably use, and protect our ocean, we must understand it. Exploration is the first step to unlocking our ocean’s full potential. Onward and downward!" ~NOAA Ocean Exploration Rarely seen Halitrephes Jellyfish, filmed by E/V Nautilus' explorers 4,000 feet down …

Pic o’ the Week: Mediterranean Bonnet Snail on Egg Case

Behold a Mediterranean Bonnet Snail, Semicassis undulata, perched atop its egg case. Photo by John Paul Mellion

Notable Indigenous Quotable – The Ocean is the Ultimate Life Force

"For us the ocean is the lifeblood of our planet, it's the blood that flows in everyone's veins. It is the blood that connects all races and all peoples and all nations, so it is the ultimate life force on the planet Earth for us." ~ Chief Fred Harvey Collins, Northern Chumash Photo: Pacific Grove …

Pic o’ the Week: Dolphins At Dusk

"For instance, on the planet Earth. {humans} had always assumed that {they were} more intelligent than dolphins" ...

Thankful For This Remarkable Ocean Planet

McWay Falls, California. Photo copyright Paul Jimerson Carrying Our Words We travel carrying our words.We arrive at the ocean.With our words we are able to speakof the sounds of thunderous waves.We speak of how majestic it is,of the ocean power that gifts us songs.We sing of our respectand call it our relative. ~ Ofelia Zepeda, …

Spotlight: World Jellyfish Day

This species of jelly was seen throughout the dive and during the 500 meter water column transect of Dive 15 for the Windows to the Deep 2018 expedition, NOAA Ocean Exploration O Jelly FishDancing in the nightTheir tentacles long and sheer…… Beauty in the deep ~by Molly Cooper This beautiful, big medusa, seen during Dive 15 of …

Pic o’ the Week: Punk Rocker Molly Miller … is a Fish

"The Molly Miller (Scartella cristata) or as I like to call it, the 'Punk Blenny,' is very common in shallow (1-3m depth) Caribbean reefs and rocky shores. It usually lives in small holes and stretches its head out to eat food particles that pass by." ~Luiz Rocha, Curator of Fishes at Cal Academy Photo © …

Pic o’ the Week: Sleeping Sperm Whales

Photo by Franco Banfi/Solent News & Photo Agency When it's time for a nap, sperm whales go vertical with their pod and snooze away. "Sleeping dogs lie, but sleeping whales … 'stand' on their tails? That was the scene ... glimpsed by a diver in the Caribbean, at least, when the photographer encountered a group …

Pic o’ the Week: Eye-Q Test

Is this mysterious photograph: a. The Hollywood Bowl at night, b. an alien spacecraft, or c. an ocean creature somewhere near Scotland?

Our Remarkable Ocean Planet

On World Ocean Day we celebrate our truly remarkable ocean planet 🌊 "Consider the ocean as Earth’s life support system. It holds 97% of Earth’s water & is home for most of life on Earth. The living ocean generates most of the oxygen in the atmosphere, shapes climate, weather & planetary chemistry. In short, the …

Pic o’ the Week: Lizardfish Nabs Surgeonfish

It's a fish-eat-fish existence in our world's ocean. Luke Gordon was on a work dive for Manta Project Fiji when he witnessed nature's savage food chain, suddenly and up close. "... [while] finishing a safety stop after a 90+ minute research dive, suddenly a flash of colour happens below. I could see what it was …

Spotlight: Marie Tharp, Pioneer of Ocean Floor Mapping

The World Ocean Floor map, created by Marie Tharp and Bruce C. Heezen, took years of data collection and synthesis -- and Tharp's tenacious march forward despite the barriers women faced in science during her lifetime. Image: World Ocean Floor Panorama, Bruce C. Heezen and Marie Tharp, 1977. Copyright by Marie Tharp 1977/2003. Reproduced by …

Pic o’ the Week: Iridescent Comb Jelly

Some of the exquisite workings of nature are here for us to see in this breathtaking image snapped by photographer Scott Gutsy Tuason in the Philippines. Iridescent jellyfish. Photo copyright Scott Gutsy Tuason... on IG -> @gutsytuason This comb jelly's iridescent comb rows are dazzling. Here at Oceanwire we're fascinated by the ocean's natural light! …

Notable Ocean Quotable: Heroes

"I have lots of heroes: anyone and everyone who does whatever they can to leave the natural world better than they found it."~Sylvia Earle Photo by @KipEvansPhoto

Pic o’ the Week: Brittle Stars on Moon Jelly

This beautiful photo is a moon jelly {Aurelia aurita} adorned with brittle stars {Ophiocnemis marmorata}. It looks like exquisite decorations on an ethereal creature, but in reality it's potentially a scene of parasitic theivery!

Pic o’ the Week: SpongeBob SquarePants & Patrick Star Sighting?!

Ocean scientists and enthusiasts alike have been spending pandemic days this month tuned in to NOAA's live dives as its research vessel Okeanos explores seamounts in the Atlantic Ocean ... ... patiently tracking the ROV as it plies the watery depths ... When suddenly!! What to scientist Christopher Mah's wondering eyes should appear but ... …

Spotlight: Deep-Sea Coral Close-up From NOAA Ocean Exploration

NOAA's vessel Okeanos and its crew of scientists, researchers and mariners have been exploring seamounts in the Atlantic Ocean this month as part of the 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones: New England and Corner Rise Seamounts expedition. Thanks to fantastic livestreaming technology, we can watch what they're seeing in real-time as their ROV plies the …

Pic o’ the Week, Father’s Day Edition: Quite A Mouthful

“Mouthbrooding male fish are truly the ultimate stay-at-home dads. 'Paternal buccal incubation' may be a mouthful, but so is carrying every single one of your babies inside your mouth. Depending on the species, paternity leave lasts anywhere from a week (jawfish) to a month (cardinalfish) …” ~Lindsey Dougherty Yellowhead Jawfish (Opistognathus aurifrons) with eggs.Photo by …

Pic o’ the Week: Sand Grain Kaleidoscope

Ah! If I had the eyes to see,And brain to understand,I think Life's mystery might beSolved in this grain of sand. --Robert William Service   Here, a microphotograph by Dr. Gary Greenberg of sand, that stuff the we love to get between our toes on the beach. Greenberg's passion is revealing the 'secret beauty of nature' by …

Holiday Zen: the sea’s glittering lights

A favorite sea phenomenon - bioluminescence, or the living lights of the ocean. Kick back and enjoy a moment of deep sea wonder in this holiday season: http://youtu.be/XD7thJVRKmQ It never gets old for many, including Dr. Edith Widder, who studies bioluminescence in sea creatures: "During my first open ocean dive, I went down to 800 feet and …

Spotlight: Deepest-ever descent, Mariana Trench

Wired is featuring a terrific resurrection of this exciting ocean exploration story - "Fifty-one years ago this Sunday, Swiss engineer Jacques Piccard and Navy oceanographer Don Walsh descended to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, seven miles below the sea’s surface. It’s the lowest point on Earth, and deeper than any human had gone before …

Spotlight: Poetry for the Octopus

Tell me, O Octopus, I begs, Is those things arms, or is they legs? I marvel at thee, Octopus If I were thou, I'd call me Us. - Ogden Nash Blanket octopus { Tremoctopus violaceus }Photo courtesy Mike Bartick, Ocean Image Bank

Santa Cruz battles bags – DC already did

Santa Cruz County supervisors voted today to ban retail establishments from giving customers plastic bags. It looks like the ordinance probably won't take effect for a year, will cost the county at least $100,000 for an environmental study, and won't apply to retailers in incorporated cities. But it's a step in the right direction. Plastics, …