Tag: Ocean Awareness

Remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer traverses over an extensive field of ferromanganese nodules that formed the bulk of the hard seafloor substrate for much of Dive 17 of the 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition. (Image credit: NOAA)

“The next gold rush” Executive order unlocks access to deep seabed minerals

5/9/2025 - By noaa.gov. President Trump signed an Executive Order establishing a framework for American companies to identify and retrieve offshore critical minerals and resources. The Executive Order prioritizes U.S. leadership in seabed mapping and mineral exploration, ensuring reliable access to critical minerals like manganese, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements. Critical minerals… SEE MORE

How Sharks Keep the Ocean Healthy

4/23/2025 - By Claire Mullin, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Sharks have long been portrayed as terrifying predators of the deep, but really, they are essential guardians of the ocean. Despite their fearsome reputation, these apex predators play a crucial role in maintaining the delicate balance of marine ecosystems. Sharks contribute… SEE MORE

Threatened Sea Stars Are Finding Refuge in BC Fjords

4/17/2025 - By tula.org. A new study suggests that cold-water fjords on British Columbia’s Central Coast could be a marine refuge for threatened sunflower sea stars, which have been hit hard by sea star wasting disease. But recovery may require more than just cold seawater. Scientists at the Hakai Institute are finding… SEE MORE

Gelatinous sea creature photographed using the ROV Deep Discoverer in 2015. Credit: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research

Diving into Creatures of the Deep

3/30/2025 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. Dive in and learn about creatures of the deep. These mysterious species live way below the surface of the ocean. Ever wonder what lurks beneath the surface? One million species live in the sea—but we’ve only discovered about one-third of them, because they live in deep parts of… SEE MORE

What’s Happening in the Ocean During Springtime?

3/2/2025 - By noaa.gov. When you think of springtime on land, you might think of birds migrating, flowers blooming, and leaves emerging. While these changes are happening on land, changes are happening in the ocean, too! But how can you tell if spring has sprung in the sea? This graphic explains some… SEE MORE

Scientists Solve the Mystery of Sea Turtles’ ‘Lost Years’

2/9/2025 - By Christina Larson. Using satellite trackers, scientists have discovered the whereabouts of young sea turtles during a key part of their lives. “We’ve had massive data gaps about the early baby to toddler life stages of sea turtles,” said Kate Mansfield, a marine scientist at the University of Central Florida. “This part… SEE MORE

How, Exactly, Could Deep-Sea Mining Benefit All of Humanity?

12/24/2024 - By Elham Shabahat. A tiny working group within the International Seabed Authority is wrestling with a daunting question. When Arvid Pardo, a Maltese diplomat, took the floor at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 1967 and began speaking at length on international law, the room was sparsely populated. Pardo… SEE MORE

Eyes Wide Open: Boosting Fishing Safety

12/4/2024 - By Paul Molyneaux. For all those who have fished near busy shipping lanes, searched for buoys in the foggy dark, or had the terror of someone going overboard, Nobeltec is partnering with SEA.AI to bring an added measure of safety, as well as operational efficiency, to its TimeZero Pro software. “Our system includes optical… SEE MORE

The Coming Collision Between Whales and Tankers on British Columbia’s Coast

11/1/2024 - By Laura Trethewey. Decades after they were hunted to local extinction, fin whales are recovering in the Kitimat fjord system—only to be threatened by a booming LNG industry. Before I make the long trek to visit Hermann Meuter at his research station on a lonely stretch of British Columbia’s north… SEE MORE

The Big Baltic Bomb Cleanup

9/16/2024 - By Paul Hockenos. The ocean became a dumping ground for weapons after Allied forces defeated the Nazis. Now a team of robots and divers are making the Baltic Sea safer. Aboard the Alkor, a 55-meter oceanographic vessel anchored in the Baltic Sea several kilometers from the German port city of Kiel,… SEE MORE