A marine expedition of environmentalists has confirmed the bad news it feared -- the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" extends even further than previously known.
Warm waters off Peru are to blame in the deaths of more than 5,000 marine birds on the coast, government authorities say.
TIGHAR's Richard Gillespie on a new expedition being launched into the recovery of Amelia Earhart's long-lost plane.
It was more than 40 years ago, but Ken Nedimyer still remembers the first time he went diving in the Florida Keys.
Ken Nedimyer and his nonprofit are working to restore endangered coral reefs in the Florida Keys.
Fish and plankton collected from the Pacific Ocean near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant contain elevated levels of radioactive materials, but below levels that pose a threat to public health, researchers reported Tuesday.
The Australian government has announced plans to establish the world's largest protected marine area in the Coral Sea.
CNN's Guillermo Arduino reports on the dire drought conditions on two South Pacific islands.
Two idyllic South Pacific islands are facing a water crisis; they're running out of it, and fast.
A high-frequency radar in California detected the March 11 tsunami that devastated Japan, raising hopes for the development of a new early warning system, a University of California at Davis oceanographer said.
Massive global greenhouse gas pollution is changing the chemistry of the world's oceans so much that scientists now predict it could severely damage shellfish populations and the nations that depend on the harvests if significant action isn't taken.
CNN's Zain Verjee talks with Alex Rogers about a new report warning that the world's oceans are at a risk of extinction.
Marine life is under severe threat from global warming, pollution and habitat loss, with a high risk of "major extinctions" according to a panel of experts.
Twenty-five years ago, I was a Ph.D. student here in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, studying the fate of fallout in the North Atlantic from nuclear weapons testing, when an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear plant released large quantities of radioactive materials into the surrounding environment. My colleagues and I immediately joined other scientists tracking these radioactive contaminants, which in my case focused on the Black Sea, the closest ocean to the accident site.
One year after the chocolaty crude started spewing out of the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, leading to the largest accidental oil spill in history, scientists say they're still trying to piece together what's happening to the environment.
They are the largest animals on the planet and spend around 90% of their lives underwater, surfacing to breathe for only fleeting moments.
Human activity and climate change have left about 75% of the world's coral reefs threatened, putting the livelihoods of many countries that depend on the ocean ecosystems at risk, according to a report released this week.
Floods have devastated the landscape of the state of Queensland, Australia, but they also present a high risk to the Great Barrier Reef.
In October, scientists completed a 10 year study on ocean life. CNN's Ralitsa Vassileva reports.
"Alien oceans could be detected by telescope," headlines a Web report about an article in The Astrophysical Journal Letters by Tyler Robinson and colleagues at NASA. The report projects that the $6.5 billion James Webb Space Telescope will be capable of such an impressive feat when it is launched some time after 2014 as a more powerful successor to the venerable Hubble Space Telescope.
The chemistry of the world's oceans is changing at a rate not seen for 65 million years, with far-reaching implications for marine biodiversity and food security, according to a new United Nations study released Thursday.
The planet's seas and oceans are richer and more diverse than scientists suspected, the biggest survey of marine life has revealed -- but many mysteries remain.
I work at an inland university in chilly upstate New York. Around here, many people feel a little global warming is good and there is really nothing that they can see or hear that will make them feel differently. News of warming sea surfaces and bleached coral reefs inspire little response when there's a chill in the air and the ocean is hundreds of miles away.
In an exclusive report, CNN's Ed Lavandera says researchers found oil and dispersants built up on the ocean floor.
The art director for "Threadless" explains how a T-shirt is raising money for those dealing with the Gulf oil spill.
Oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill may have settled to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico further east than previously suspected and at levels toxic to marine life, researchers reported Monday.
The oceans have become so depleted by over-fishing, pollution and climate change that they can only be saved by a large global network of reserves, according to a growing consensus among marine scientists.
Bio-Remediation
updated: Thu Jul 29 2010 23:14:00
Scientists are exploring how the secret to cleaning up pollution in our oceans lies within nature.
An expedition by environmental group Greenpeace has revealed a stunning array of sea life on the Arctic Ocean seabed.
Underwater photographer Gavin Newman shows CNN images filmed by Greenpeace hundreds of meters below the Arctic ice.
The A Whale, whose owner claims can skim up to 50,000 barrels of oil per day, is drawing some skepticism.
Behind each video feed of oil billowing out of the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico is a robot about the size of a minibus built at an industrial center in this Louisiana oil town.
Since I began exploring the ocean as a marine scientist 50 years ago, more has been learned about the ocean than during all preceding history.
You used to know them as maps, but in a Web 2.0 world they're now called geographic information systems (GIS) and they could play a key part in saving the world's endangered coral reefs.
Jacques Cousteau's grandson Philippe Cousteau Jr. explored the BP oil spill underwater and describes what he saw.
On April 20, we witnessed one of the worst oil spills in American history, an event that has caused oil to surge into the Gulf of Mexico for weeks now.
Natural forces, human effort and some good fortune have kept the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico from becoming an all-out environmental disaster, scientists say.
As the "H2O Below" charter boat leaves the dock and heads into Pensacola Bay, it is chock full of divers.
A dive team checks out the water quality off Pensacola, Florida, about 60 miles from the Gulf Coast oil spill.
The epic voyage of Plastiki is bringing into sharp focus the inordinate environmental and economic impact that humanity is having on the oceans and seas.
Although best known for his acting, Ted Danson has been campaigning for cleaner oceans since the 1980s.
Twenty years ago when I had the opportunity to dive to 18,000 feet in the Japanese research submersible "Shinkai 6500" in the Sea of Japan. I fantasized about the amazing animals our team might see deep on the ocean floor: rat-tails, deep sea sharks, and octopi.
Two teams of explorers and scientists are on their way to the Arctic for the first international project to measure the amount of carbon dioxide in water beneath the ice.
Moments after marine explorer Sylvia Earle finished her passionate plea to preserve vast stretches of the world's oceans at last year's TED conference, a foundation executive walked up to her and pledged a million dollars for the cause.
Coral reefs around the world are worth a staggering $172 billion dollars a year to the global economy. But the wealth of the oceans' reefs, and their amazing monetary value, is on the verge of being destroyed.
For Mary Crowley, the sea is her second home.
Efforts to curb overfishing in five of the world's marine ecosystems are starting to show signs of working.
It is a problem of massive plastic proportions -- a giant floating debris field, composed mostly of bits and pieces of plastic, in the northwest Pacific Ocean, about a thousand miles off the coast of California.
We all know what happens when urban sprawl gets out of control: Commutes back up, smog thickens, and concrete suburbs gobble up green spaces.
The world's oceans are full of trash, causing "tremendous" negative impacts on coastal life and ecology, according to a U.N. report released Monday.
The massive amount of garbage in the ocean likely complicates the search for the remains of an Air France flight that went missing Monday near Brazil, oceanographers who spoke with CNN said.
Advances in the study of coral in the last few years has led a group of scientists to conclude that corals almost rival humans in their genetic complexity and their relationship to algae is key to their survival.
Beyond the golden beaches and beneath the blue waters of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques is a site that resembles more of a munitions graveyard than a Caribbean paradise.
It's not just the number of people fishing, but the level of poverty in a local community that leads to overfishing of coral reefs, according to a new report.
Nine sites in the central Pacific will be set as sanctuaries for marine life and bases of research for scientists, President Bush said Tuesday.
President Bush designates three new areas in the Pacific as Marine National Monuments. CNN's Abbi Tatton reports.
The world has lost almost one-fifth of its coral reefs according a new report released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Thousands of boats, ships and barges sink every year in American waters, and most of them remain abandoned forever wreaking havoc to undersea ecology
President Bush on Saturday blamed the Democratic-led Congress for the high cost of gasoline and renewed his call for expanded offshore drilling to increase U.S. oil supplies
Hundreds of baby penguins swept from the icy shores of Antarctica and Patagonia are washing up dead on Rio de Janeiro's tropical beaches, rescuers and penguin experts said Friday
One-third of reef-building coral are threatened, scientists say, making corals the Earth's most endangered species
Almost half the coral reef ecosystems in United States territory are in poor or fair condition, mostly because of rising ocean temperatures, according to a government report released Monday
Marine scientists surveying a large undersea mountain chain were
amazed to find millions of tiny starfish swirling their arms to capture
food in the undersea current
Todd Barber's foundation is dedicated to restoring the world's endangered coral habitats with artificial reefs.
After witnessing the rapid devastation of a Cayman Island coral reef where he had been diving since childhood, Todd Barber was moved from horror to action.
Fortune: Dumping Ironupdated: Wed Apr 16 2008 08:24:00
"Give me a half tanker of iron, and I will give you an ice age."
The world's coral reefs are under threat. Overfishing, unsustainable tourism, coastal development, pollution, the global aquarium trade and climate change are having a devastating effect on these fragile ecosystems, according to the International Coral Reef Initiative.
True or False: Coral reefs can save coastal communities from tsunamis
Electricity is used to revive coral reefs threatened by climate change. CNN's Dan Rivers reports.
Coral reefs are often referred to as the canaries of the ocean -- because, like the canary in a mine, they give an indicator of the dangers that lie ahead. Judging by the state of coral reefs these days, if you happen to be a fish, it's not looking good for you.
ITN's Bill Neely takes us to Sumatra, Indonesia, where precious rainforests are dying at human hands.
Global warming and pollution are threatening the colorful and complex ecosystems. Is it too late to save them?
Corals stressed by warming conditions may benefit from the passage of a hurricane -- as long as it doesn't slam right into them
Scientists at California State University at Monterey Bay have discovered why the state's most famous big wave -- Mavericks, off the coast south of San Francisco -- is so big.
Plans for foreign oil companies, some from India and China, to drill off the cost of Cuba are prompting calls from lawmakers to ease environmental restrictions that prohibit coastal drilling in most of the U.S., according to a report Tuesday.
A disturbing consensus is emerging among the scientists who study global warming: Climate change may bring more violent swings than they ever thought, and it may set in sooner. Lately John Browne, the CEO of BP, has been jolting audiences with a list of proposed solutions that hint at the vastness of the challenge. It aims at stabilizing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at about double the pre-industrial level while continuing economic growth. To do that, carbon emissions would have to be reduced ultimately by seven gigatons a year. A gigaton, or a billion tons, is even bigger than it sounds. Eliminating just one, argues Browne, would mean building 700 nuclear stations to replace fossil-fuel-burning power plants, or increasing the use of solar power by a factor of 700, or stopping all deforestation and doubling present efforts at reforestation. Achieve all three of these, and pull off four more equally large-scale reallocations of capital and infrastructure, and the world would probab...
The Atlantic Ocean's flow between the tropics and cold, northern waters appears to be weakening, which could drastically alter the weather in Europe, a newly released study shows.
Michael Jackson's defense tried to undercut the conspiracy charge against him Monday by calling witnesses who disputed claims by his accuser's mother that she and her children were held against their will at Neverland Ranch.
One outcome of global warming could be a dramatic cooling of Britain and northern Europe.
Scientists from around the world have expressed grave concerns about the health of local ecosystems and their ability to sustain survivors of the tsunamis that struck parts of Asia and Africa last month.
An ice-skating rink, rock-climbing wall, nightclub and swimming pool are hardly standard equipment on a research ship. But there's really nothing traditional about how the Explorer of the Seas gathers scientific data.
In Virginia Beach, Virginia, this week, a fishing trawler pulls into port. Not necessarily noteworthy, until you consider the mission the Indies Trader has been on.
"Pearls absorb the warmth of the oceans," wrote pearl merchant Takao Ohyama, "and reflect a mysterious countenance." If this holds for pearls in general, it is especially true of the "black" pearls...
At a dock in Marina del Rey, near Los Angeles, stands an 85-foot-long, three- deck ship loaded with ocean-monitoring equipment. Lily Lam visited Ann Dalkey, a marine biologist, and Ioannice (pronou...
SCIENCE BESPEAKS power, both military and economic. The U.S. has long had the most productive scientific establishment in the world: Since the explosion of the first atomic bomb in the New Mexico d...
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