Today's Catch
Sep 20, 2011
Credit:Smithsonian Institution
Earth’s first animals had soft bodies. This illustration shows a community of soft-bodied Ediacaran (edi-A-karan) animals. Some species resemble living ocean creatures. Others are unlike any known organisms and cannot be classified. Scientists have found fossils of these fauna in sedimentary rocks worldwide. Explore the ancient ocean in an image gallery or in our Ocean Over Time interactive .Read more
Sep 19, 2011
Watch the Smithsonian's Sant Ocean Hall come to life in this two minute time lapse video. The Sant Ocean Hall is the National Museum of Natural History's largest exhibit, providing visitors with a unique and breathtaking introduction to the majesty of the ocean. The hall's combination of 674 marine specimens and models, high-definition video, and the newest technology allows visitors to explore...Read more
Sep 16, 2011
Credit:Flickr User Fabi Fliervoet
More than ever, the fate of the ocean is in our hands. To be good stewards and leave a thriving ocean for future generations, we need to make changes big and small wherever we are. To make a positive difference, here are five simple things you can do in 10 minutes or less to help protect the ocean—wherever you are. The trash we "throw away" doesn't disappear. Plastic bags, disposable food...Read more
Sep 15, 2011
The US Fish Commission Steamer Albatross (1882-1921) sailed approximately one million miles, in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and collected millions of organisms. The Albatross had a special and vital link with Smithsonian science, for the vessel was the brainchild of Spencer Baird, second Secretary of the Smithsonian. At least 10 prominent Smithsonian scientists – including Bartsch, Bean,...Read more
Sep 12, 2011
Credit:Carl Buell, http://carlbuell.com/
Offshore Peru, during the Eocene (~56-34 million years ago), showing three archaeocetes (ancient whales), along with a previously described fossil penguin. Top to bottom: Perudyptes devriesi , unnamed protocetid, Ocucajea picklingi , and Supayacetus muizoni . Smithsonian curator and paleobiologist Dr. Nicholas D. Pyenson was on the team that discovered the marine fossils in Peru's Pisco Basin...Read more
Sep 8, 2011
Credit:National Snow and Ice Data Center
This graph of the Arctic sea ice coverage shows how close the year 2011 is to reaching a record-low . The graph contains data through September 7, 2011. The National Snow and Ice Data Center , which produced the graph, says we should know within a couple weeks if the ice extent drops below the previous record which was set in 2007.Read more
Sep 8, 2011
Credit:NASA/NOAA GOES Project
This image shows four tropical storm systems in the Atlantic Ocean basin on September 8, 2011. In this arresting image you can see Maria, Katia, Nate, and Lee--all four storm systems--in one NOAA satellite image. NASA provided information and data for each of these tropical storms on their Hurricanes and Tropical Cyclones website, a site designed to report the latest storm images and data from...Read more
Sep 1, 2011
If you want to study invasive species in the ocean, the Panama Canal offers a lot to explore. The ships passing through can inadvertently transport plants, animals, and even parasites from the Atlantic into the Pacific, or the reverse direction. Some species stow away in ballast tanks , others cling to ship hulls . In this video Mark Torchin, a scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research...Read more
Aug 24, 2011
On August 23, 2011 a 5.8 earthquake emanated from the little-known Central Virginia Seismic Zone. The epicenter was near Mineral, VA, but the tremor shook homes, schools, and office buildings in Washington, DC, including Smithsonian Institution buildings, and beyond. In this brief video, Smithsonian educator Catherine Sutera uses a Slinky® to demonstrate two types of seismic waves that people in...Read more
Jul 27, 2011
Credit:J. Murray Roberts
Deep-sea corals scientist Dr. J. Murray Roberts photographed these living polyps from the Mingulay Reef Complex off Scotland in aquaria in 2010. Learn more about Roberts' work mapping deep-sea corals and explore more about deep-sea corals in the Ocean Portal multimedia feature " Coral Gardens of the Deep Sea ."Read more