Search
An artist sketches the preserved bones of a specimen in the Smithsonian's collection.
Photo

Flippers, Jawbones, and Blowholes: Marine Specimens Inspire Artists

View Image
The giant squid’s enormous eyes help it find prey in the dark ocean depths.
Photo

Largest Eye in the World, Giant Squid

View Image
Elephant seals' eyes are specialized to dim light and, in particular, to light at the wavelength of 485 nm -- which is the same wavelength given off by the bioluminescent lanternfish that are the seals' main prey.
Photo

Elephant Seals Laze on the Beach

View Image
An oil drilling platform in oil-free water two years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Overview

Gulf Oil Spill

Read the Full Overview
The Cook islands banknote
Article

Sharks and Humans: A Love-Hate Story

Read the Full Article
a woman with short black hair and a long necklace of pearls sits in front of a microscope and holds a small button coral
Article

Joan Murrell Owens and her Button Corals

Read the Full Article
Forams are tiny single-celled organisms.
Article

Trials and Tribulations with Contamination

Read the Full Article
This 1874 illustration of California gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) shows a group of individuals at the edge of their modern day range in the North Pacific Ocean, blocked from traveling further east into Arctic waters by thick ice barriers.
Article

In the Arctic, the Times, They Are a-Changin: You Can Pitch in to Understand How

Read the Full Article
Positioned in front of a natural oil seep, this video camera is capturing images of the black oil bubbling up from beneath the sea floor. A light mounted to the frame helps see what is happening in the dark on the sea floor.
Article

How Oil Feeds the Deep Sea

Read the Full Article
Pink crustose algae covers the surface of a rock.
Article

Microbes Help Corals Pick a Home and Settle Down

Read the Full Article
Small foram shells in seafloor sediment.
Article

Little Critters that tell a BIG Story: Benthic Foraminifera and the Gulf Oil Spill

Read the Full Article
Magellanic penguin parents typically lay two eggs under a bush or in a burrow, taking turns swimming out to sea to catch food for their chicks.
Article

Penguin Health Equals Ocean Health

Read the Full Article