World’s Deepest Squid Discovered at Staggering Depth Under The Sea

A team of researchers hunting for the wreck of a lost WWII destroyer ship in the Philippine Sea returned to land with another, perhaps even more exciting discovery: video evidence of the deepest-swimming squid ever recorded.   Cruising just above the floor of the Philippine Trench at a staggering 20,300 feet (6,200 meters) below the … Read more

Astronomers propose building a neutrino telescope — out of the Pacific Ocean

Paul M. Sutter is an astrophysicist at SUNY Stony Brook and the Flatiron Institute, host of “Ask a Spaceman” and “Space Radio,” and author of “How to Die in Space.” Sutter contributed this article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Neutrinos are one of the most elusive particles in the cosmos, second only to … Read more

‘Once-in-a-Lifetime Encounter’ With Rare Octopus Filmed at Great Barrier Reef

A mesmerizing new video shows a “once-in-a-lifetime encounter” with a bizarre, bright red octopus swimming above the Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Australia.  The encounter, first reported by local Australian news website Bundaberg Now, was a rare sighting of a blanket octopus, named after the blanket-like fleshy cape between its arms. Jacinta Shackleton, a marine biologist and reef guide, filmed and photographed … Read more

Last 9 Years Are Now Among 10 Hottest Ever Recorded

The nine years spanning 2013-2021 all rank among the 10 hottest on record, according to an annual report a US agency released Thursday, the latest data underscoring the global climate crisis.   For 2021, the average temperature across global surfaces was 1.51 degrees Fahrenheit (0.84 degrees Celsius) above the 20th-century average, making the year the … Read more

Ocean Temperatures Just Smashed a New Record For The Sixth Year in a Row

Ocean temperatures the world over are building at a relentless rate as humans continue to alter the atmosphere around them. In 2021, according to a new summary of two international datasets, the wave of warmth in our oceans hit a new peak, eclipsing the influence of cooler regional episodes.   While last year’s ocean warming … Read more

Microbes in The Ocean Depths Can Make Oxygen Without Sun. This Discovery Could Be Huge

For most of life on Earth, oxygen is essential, and sunlight is usually needed to produce that oxygen. But in an exciting twist, researchers have caught a common, ocean-dwelling microbe breaking all the rules.   Scientists have found that a microbe called Nitrosopumilus maritimus and several of its cousins, called ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA), are able to … Read more

Saturn: Planet’s moon Mimas may be hiding an impossible ocean

Mimas doesn’t show any hints of liquid water, and it seems impossible that it could have an ocean under its surface, but that’s exactly what a new set of simulations suggest Space 11 January 2022 By Leah Crane Mimas, a moon of Saturn, imaged by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute Saturn’s moon Mimas may … Read more

Ocean currents: Outsider wins DARPA challenge to predict where floats will drift

A competition to forecast the locations of 90 floats drifting in the Atlantic could lead to better methods for tracking oil slicks and locating shipwreck survivors Technology 10 January 2022 By David Hambling A drifting float like those used in the challenge Courtesy of Sofar Ocean A satellite engineer with no background in oceanography has … Read more