The shores of the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro boast turquoise waters, white sands, and green lagoons, but European explorers discovered the waters around one promontory were unusually cold, Keep reading
Tag: ocean
Why Sea Foams
Seawater froths and foams in ways that freshwater rarely does. A new study pinpoints the ocean’s electrolytes as the reason bubbles resist merging there. By studying the final moments before Keep reading
“Fade”
Stingrays swim over rippled sands in this award-winning image from photographer Gregory Sherman. Above this peaceful vista, waves break and a dramatic skyscape looms. It’s the regular back-and-forth of the Keep reading
How Large Particles Get in Sea Spray
When bubbles burst at the ocean’s surface, they eject droplets that can carry high concentrations of contaminants like pollutants, viruses, and microplastics. Previous theories posited that only particles smaller than Keep reading
Turning the Beach Pink
Lab experiments and numerical simulations can only take us so far; sometimes there’s no substitute for getting out into the field. That’s why a beach in San Diego turned pink Keep reading
Inhibiting Marine Lightning
Thunderstorms over the ocean have substantially less lightning than a similar storm over land. Scientists wondered whether this difference could be due to lower cloud bases over the ocean or Keep reading
Seismic Events Reveal Ocean Temperatures
Decades ago, researchers proposed sending sound waves through the ocean to measure its temperature. Although the technique worked, it ran into noise pollution issues, but now it’s back, using naturally-occurring Keep reading
Two Views of Ocean Eddies
Colorful, sediment-laden eddies swirl off the Italian coast in this satellite image. These small-scale eddies — less than 10 km in diameter — can be short-lived and are often difficult Keep reading
Droplets From Jets
On the ocean, countless crashing waves are creating bubbles. When they burst, those bubbles generate jets and droplets that spray into the sky, carrying sea salt, dust, and biological material Keep reading
The Naruto Whirlpools
Enormous whirlpools are not simply the work of overactive imaginations. There are several spots in the world, including Japan’s Naruto Strait, that regularly see these spectacular vortices. Naruto’s whirlpools are Keep reading