Media Gallery: Photos

  • 'Blue Marble' image of the Earth taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA's satellite - Suomi NPP.

    'Blue Marble' Image of the Earth
    Jan 26 2012 - 5:34pm
    'Blue Marble' image of the Earth taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA's most recently launched Earth-observing satellite - Suomi NPP. This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth'...
  • A message in Korean calligraphy reads, 'The ocean is essential to all.'

    'Ocean' in Korean Calligraphy
    May 9 2011 - 10:10am
    "The ocean is essential to all," reads a sign written in Korean by calligrapher Myoung-Won Kwon, a resident of Maryland. The artist showcased his craft for visitors at the Smithsonian's National...
  • A girl poses with her shark snow sculpture.

    2011 Ocean Hero, Sophi Bromenshenkel
    Jun 9 2011 - 4:08pm
    Shark-lover and Minnesota native Sophi Bromenshenkel poses with her hammerhead snow sculpture. The eight-year-old is one of Oceana's 2011 Ocean Heroes.
  • This is an unidentified moray eel, collected from 650 feet off the coast of Curacao.

    A Baby Moray Eel, or a Really Small Adult?
    Aug 20 2012 - 10:42am
    This is an unidentified moray eel, collected from 650 feet off the coast of Curacao. Morays are very secretive animals that tend to stay hidden in caves and crevices. Researchers with the Deep Reef...
  • The spiral-tufted bryozoan could hold a medicine for Alzheimer's and cancer.

    A Bryozoan's Medical Endosymbiont
    Mar 14 2013 - 10:40am
    The spiral-tufted bryozoan (Bugula neritina) is being studied for a potential Alzheimer's disease and cancer drug -- but it's not the bryozoan that makes the chemical. The chemical, found in the...
  • <p>This is a tree topper unlike any other! Reminiscent of a freshly made snow angel, these pteropods are actually shell-less sea snails (<em>Clione limacina</em>). Unlike the typical snail, they flap their adapted foot ‘wings’ to get around in the water column. They are extremely small, with the largest species reaching only 5 centimeters long. Sea angels' mostly eat their relatives, the <strong><a href="/ocean-photos/pair-sea-butterflies">sea butterfies</a></strong>, which are threatened by ocean acidification.</p>

    A Chorus of Sea Angels
    Dec 24 2012 - 12:03pm
    This is a tree topper unlike any other! Reminiscent of a freshly made snow angel, these pteropods are actually shell-less sea snails (Clione limacina). Unlike the typical snail, they flap their...
  • <p>The central dark area of this foram (<em>Globigerinoides ruber</em>) is the shell surrounded by spines. The tiny yellow dots are symbiotic algae, which live in the protoplasm of the host organism.</p>

    A Colorful Foram: Globigerinoides ruber
    Mar 19 2013 - 9:00am
    This foraminifer was collected as it floated about 3 meters below the surface off the coast of Puerto Rico. The central dark area is the shell surrounded by spines. The tiny yellow dots are...
  • The comb jelly (ctenophore) Thalassocalyce inconstans was photographed in the Sargasso Sea by Census of Marine Zooplankton researchers.

    A Ctenophore Feeds
    Aug 29 2012 - 1:35pm
    The comb jelly (ctenophore) Thalassocalyce inconstans is found in shallow to deep water in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and sometimes in warmer Pacific Ocean waters off the coast of...
  • This deep sea creature has a whale-like body and gaping mouth. It grows up to 400 mm (15.7 in) long.

    A Fish that Looks Like a Whale
    Oct 23 2010 - 5:27pm
    This deep sea creature, the whalefish (Cetomimidae), has a whale-like body, a gaping mouth, no fins or scales and a deep lateral line, which detects vibrations in the water. The first specimens were...
  • Seals, pelicans and other birds rest in a harbor on a bank of rocks.

    A Gathering of Seabirds and Seals
    Mar 18 2011 - 2:25pm
    A menageries of seabirds (including cormorants and pelicans) and seal gather on a rocky outcrop. The photo is a still from The Changing Sea, part of the 19th Annual Environmental Film Festival, which...
  • A photo of nine ocean animals - echinoderms and gastropods - resting on two human fingers reveals the ocean's rich biodiversity.

    A Handful of Biodiversity
    May 21 2012 - 11:16am
    Fitting nine of anything on two fingers is impressive. These mollusks and echinoderms are a teeny-tiny sample of the ocean's biodiversity. The Census of Marine Life estimates that...
  • A healthy coral reef far away from CO2 seeps where the pH is still unaffected

    A Healthy Coral Reef
    Aug 2 2012 - 2:30pm
    Far away from the volcanic CO2 seeps, the water is unaffected and a healthy coral reef flourishes with a diversity of coral species. Closer to the seeps where the water is acidic, the corals barely...