Beaked whales are considered one of the least understood mammals, but pressure from their predators may be driving these whales to exhibit inconspicuous surface behavior. Using passive acoustic monitoring, hydrophones, and autonomous recorders, researchers were able to capture nine audio recordings, visually spotting the whales four separate times. They discuss their findings in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

Dr. Tanja Stratmann has been awarded the prestigious Starting Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). Starting in 2026, Dr. Stratmann will spend five years researching the nitrogen cycle of living and fossil sponges at MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen.

New research from UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography reveals that discarded barrels on the seafloor off with halos contained caustic alkaline waste, which created the halos as it leaked out.

Steve Canty has been appointed new director of the Smithsonian’s Marine Global Earth Observatory (MarineGEO) network, effective Sept. 8. A marine biologist, Canty has worked alongside scientists and communities in Latin America and the Caribbean to study vital resources like mangroves, seagrasses and small-scale fisheries. As MarineGEO director, Canty will lead a global network with partners on six continents, dedicated to understanding and protecting coastal ecosystems for the billions of people who rely on them.

Prochlorococcus, the most abundant photosynthesizing organism in the ocean, might be more vulnerable to climate change than researchers thought. Population decline could weaken the foundation of subtropical and tropical ecosystems as ocean temperatures continue to rise.

The biennial Ocean Sciences Meeting, co-sponsored by the American Geophysical Union , the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography , and The Oceanography Society , brings together 6,000 scientists, students, policymakers and educators to discuss breaking research across the ocean sciences and critical issues affecting a sustainable future for our oceans.