overview

Ocean Acidification

Ocean acidification is sometimes called “climate change’s equally evil twin,”...

slideshow

A Squalodontid Success

On a beach in Piña, Panama the tide is rolling out. Faint outlines of skeletal...

slideshow

The Ocean Throughout Geologic Time, An Image Gallery

Evidence shows that life probably began in the ocean at least 3.5 billion years...

slideshow

Under Arctic Ice

Hidden beneath Arctic ice is a world few have ever seen. Take the icy plunge with a...

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Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary (65 Million Years Ago)

This rendering shows life at the end of the Cretaceous Period, before the impact of...

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Flippers, Jawbones, and Blowholes: Marine Specimens Inspire Artists

Rachel Caauwe was one of a dozen artists who spent a recent Saturday sketching...

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Shell Dissolves in Seawater

Over a 10-year period, NOAA scientists have collected 72,000 seawater samples, and...

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Elevator Rudists

These "elevator" rudists, an ancient bivalve, used one long heavy valve to anchor...

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Battle with a Sperm Whale

An adult giant squid struggles for survival in an encounter with a sperm whale -...

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Ammonite

Like the modern nautilus, this relative of modern squid hunted from inside the safe...

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Whale Collections

The Smithsonian has more whale skulls and skeletons than any other collection in...

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Model of Phoenix

A life-size, meticulously detailed model of the North Atlantic right whale Phoenix...