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Ocean and Beaches

Covering marine research on the water and on the sand

A Caribbean reef shark, Carcharhinus perezii, with a wire leader hanging from her mouth off New Providence, Bahamas.
Photo Credit
Shane Gross
Sharks are often observed with hooks, scars or other evidence of encounters with fisherman. This Caribbean reef shark was spotted in the Bahamas with a wire leader hanging from her mouth. It has been illegal to catch sharks in the Bahamas since 2011.

Sharks are dying at alarming rates, mostly due to fishing. Retention bans may help

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Icebergs float of Greenland in the arctic sea.
Photo Credit
Explora_2005 via iStock
Legions of icebergs brought the Atlantic circulation to its knees during the last glacial period.

Historic iceberg surges offer insights on modern climate change
A mantis shrimp emerges from its burrow to confront a rival.
Photo Credit
Roy Caldwell
These territorial crustaceans use their tails as shields to defend against the explosive punches of their rivals.

Rolling with the punches: How mantis shrimp defend against high-speed strikes
Waves crash on a revetment protecting houses along Broad Beach, Malibu.
Photo Credit
Charles Lester
The ocean is advancing on California, and we need to determine how we will respond.

Securing the future of California’s coasts
California Sea Otters grooming themselves in the Elkhorn Slough at Moss Landing.
Photo Credit
Htrnr via iStock
Although sea otters only recently recolonized their historic habitat in the Elkhorn Sough, they’re already benefiting the ecosystem.

Sea otters stabilize salt marsh banks as they recolonize a Californian estuary
A school of hammerhead sharks.
Photo Credit
Masayuki Agawa via OceanImageBank

A global study reveals pathways to save threatened sharks, despite rising mortality trends
Flames from the Thomas Fire reflect in the waves at night.
Photo Credit
Ray Ford / Noozhawk
Flames from the Thomas Fire reflect in the waves just west of Ventura. Its proximity to the ocean provided researchers a unique opportunity.

Thomas Fire research reveals that ash can fertilize the oceans
A scuba diver swims in a kelp forest
Photo Credit
Courtesy of NPS

Illuminating the benefits of marine protected areas for ecotourism, and vice versa
The surface of Lake Superior from the back of a research vessel.
Photo Credit
Alexandra Phillips
The sulfate poor waters of Lake Superior could provide insights on the biochemistry of Earth's early ocean.

Research in Lake Superior reveals how sulfur might have cycled in Earth’s ancient oceans
A humpback swims at the surface with fishing gear wrapped around its flukes.
Photo Credit
E. Lyman/ NOAA Sanctuaries
Less gear in the water means fewer chances for Whales to become entangled.

Reducing fishing gear could save whales with low impacts to California’s crab fishermen
A scalloped hammerhead prowls a reef in the Galapagos Marine Reserve, Ecuador.
Photo Credit
Lopazanski et al.
The Galapagos Marine Reserve is one of many marine protected areas around the globe that safeguards biodiversity, cultural heritage and marine resources.

Theory meets practice: Marine protected areas overwhelmingly manage with climate change in mind
dune plant and dune fence
Photo Credit
Karina Johnston
Beach bur, a native plant that helped to form dunes on a section of Santa Monica Beach in Los Angeles

Dune restoration could increase the resilience of Southern California's urban beaches to sea level rise
Diatoms under the microscope.
Photo Credit
Elif Bayraktar via iStock
Diatoms are one of the largest groups of phytoplankton, which serve as a foundation of the ocean’s food web.

Important groups of phytoplankton tolerate some strategies to remove CO2 from the ocean
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