overview

Giant Squid

Giant squid live up to their name: the largest giant squid ever recorded by...

overview

How Laws Around the World Help Improve Ocean Health

Solving environmental problems often starts with small groups of people working to...

overview

Bioluminescence

You may have seen the sparkle of fireflies on a summer’s night. The fireflies...

The Time For Earth Optimism is Now

Here at the Smithsonian we think the time for Earth Optimism is now. So we are...

Article

Unearthing History: Mary Anning's Hunt for Prehistoric Ocean Giants

You may not have realized it, but you’ve been acquainted with Mary Anning since...

Personal Perspectives

Microbes Help Corals Pick a Home and Settle Down

Bacteria are everywhere in the ocean. They live in the water, on virtually every...

An Ocean of Energy: Bringing Offshore Wind to America

Three miles off the coast of Block Island, a roughly ten square mile haven for...

Article

Why a Tusk? The real-life unicorns of the sea and the tusks that make them famous

In the frigid Arctic Ocean, a mysterious toothed whale—the narwhal— resides...

Article

Coral Letters: A Message from the Corals of Curacao

If you look closely, you can read a message in the corals. We are not being...

How Octopuses and Squids Change Color

Squids, octopuses, and cuttlefishes are among the few animals in the world that can...

World Oceans Day 2012

Here at the Ocean Portal, we celebrate the ocean every day. But one day a year...

Archaeologists Study Early Whaling Community in Quebec, Canada

For over a decade, Smithsonian's Arctic Studies Center archaeologist, William...