April 20, 2018 Giant whale bumps into Maryland pier, shocks fishermen A man fishing off of a pier in Maryland had an unexpected encounter with a whale, a video shows.
April 18, 2018 Giant group of octopus 'moms' discovered during deep sea expedition: 'It's suicide' A group of more than 100 octopus "moms" and their eggs were found clustered about 2 miles below the ocean's surface off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica by a group of scientists during a deep-sea expedition.
April 18, 2018 New York's Tappan Zee Bridge to be used to create artificial reefs A bridge that used to be the cause of headaches for commuters in the New York region will soon have a new life to help foster marine life.
April 17, 2018 California photographer captures pod of killer whales on camera: ‘I was in utter amazement’ A photographer in California searching for a blue whale came across a pod of killer whales instead.
April 17, 2018 Oceans' mysterious magnetic field is mapped in stunning detail from space Satellites circling Earth have mapped an elusive, invisible force in unprecedented detail: the magnetic field created by the currents in the planet's salty oceans, according to new research.
April 9, 2018 Sperm whale swallows 64 pounds of trash, dies of 'gastric shock' Scientists were appalled to find 64 pounds of garbage and plastic -- including bags, ropes, nets and even a drum -- inside the stomach of a young sperm whale that washed up on a beach in Spain.
April 6, 2018 The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is three times the size of France and growing, study finds The Great Pacific Garbage Patch – an enormous swatch of trillions of pieces of plastic and trash floating somewhere between California and Hawaii – is already three times the size of France and growing fast, according to a new report published in Scientific Reports.
March 21, 2018 4 up-close encounters with sea creatures Sharks and whales and manatees—oh my! For a kid fascinated by marine life, there’s nothing more exciting than interacting with a finned friend in its natural habitat. Got a water baby in your family? Here are four encounters that let you get up-close and personal with some not-so-scary sea creatures.
March 21, 2018 10 most iconic places to photograph Recently I was asked if I could name a “bucket list” of iconic places in the world for photographers. It didn’t take long. Certain places attract photographers like magnets attract iron filings; we are drawn to them without quite knowing why. Nor do we absolutely have to know. For some of us it will simply be the joy of collecting the trophy pictures we’ve always wanted to take. But for others, myself included, the exercise has something more to do with understanding both ourselves and the world. Here is my list (not terribly original, I’ll admit), with my reflections on why these places are iconic to me. I’m absolutely sure that everyone will have a different top ten. But just as going there and taking the pictures was a deeply rich experience, so too is the simple act of asking which ones—and why?
March 21, 2018 Amazing places to swim with sharks Nothing sends ocean swimmers fleeing for shore faster than a fin sighting. The word shark alone is enough to scare most people, immediately calling to mind the menacing theme song for the movie "Jaws"—and, of course, all the gruesome attack scenes therein. But some people look past the sensationalism and all those razor-sharp teeth (up to 15 rows of them) to see sharks for what they really are—streamlined, beautiful animals that are fantastically adapted to their environment. (There’s a reason they’ve been around for 64 million years.) For those brave souls, the thrill of floating alongside these big fish far outweighs the fright. And in truth, many sharks pose a bigger threat to plankton than to surfers or other fish—though swimming alongside them still lends plenty of bragging rights. In order to do it, you’ll need a boat (in most cases, anyway) and local knowledge to find the fish. The surest bet is to hire a local guide service or naturalist who can take you out, outfit you with snorkels or dive gear, and—perhaps most important—let you know how close is too close. We scoured the globe to come up with some great guide services that offer you a glimpse inside the watery world of the oceans’ most-feared fish. They’ll take you on daylong dive and snorkeling charters, set you up on a live-aboard yacht for extended, all-inclusive trips, and even load you into a deep-sea submersible to get a Cousteau-style look at some seriously creepy (and rare) creatures. That underscores another fascinating fact about sharks—more than the much-maligned Great White, there are 470 species of sharks prowling the world's oceans. There are bus-sized, plankton-eating whale sharks that you can snorkel up to and touch; little lemon sharks that you can lift out of the water (literally, but we don't recommend it…their "nibbles" can cause serious injury); streamlined makos that blast through the water at upwards of 25 mph; bottom-dwelling nurse sharks who are sort of like catfish of the sea; and, yes, 5,000-pound apex predators called Great Whites. It’s up to you what shark you want to see, and how close you want to get. Some you can reach out and touch, others are best kept on the other side of a thick steel cage. With that in mind, here are the best places in the world to get nose-to-snout with sharks.
