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Blackbeard the Pirate engraving
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Blackbeard the Pirate

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 Dampier is credited with helping to rescue Alexander Selkirk, the privateer who inspired the Robinson Crusoe story.    
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Robinson Crusoe Cover Painting by N.C. Wyeth

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This watercolor painting shows William Dampier venturing into the unknown aboard a pirate ship.
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Dampier on the High Seas

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Two young visitors look into the coral reef aquarium at the Smithsonian's Sant Ocean Hall
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Young Visitors to the Sant Ocean Hall

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An environmental chemist collects samples of oil in the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon spill. The resulting chemical “fingerprint” of the oil will help determine the origin of other samples.
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Oil Samples in the Gulf

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Melissa Frey, Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) Rubenstein Fellow, examines a Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) on a chilly day in Sidney, British Columbia. In addition to holding an EOL Fellowship, Melissa is a Research Associate at the Royal BC Museum, where she continues to engage in taxonomic studies.
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Taxonomic studies

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Human activity is increasing in the Arctic marine environment due to climate change. To help the most vulnerable areas, the Global Marine Program of IUCN, along with partners, is convening a series of workshops aimed at enhancing ecosystem-based management and identifying biologically or ecologically important or vulnerable habitats. Burgerbukta, a bay in Svalbard, Norway, is being managed for ecosystem protection.
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Protecting Arctic habitat

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Pirates divide up the riches they plundered. Most pirates abided by their own codes of conduct, and life aboard pirate ships was more democratic than that on naval ships of the time. Watch a slide show about legendary pirates from the Golden Age of Pirates.
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Pyle's "The Sacking of Panama"

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Map of South America highlighting Juan Fernandez Island off of the west coast, near Chile
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Map of Juan Fernandez Island

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Three hundred year old pen and ink drawing of a "strange and large" bat.
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New Guinea Bat

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Photograph of several large jellyfish with orange bells, dark red tentacles, and pale ruffly oral arms, swimming against a bright blue aquarium background.
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Pacific Sea Nettles

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When we use fossil fuels to power our cars, homes, and businesses, we put heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
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Tracking Ocean Acidification

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