What's Current in

Ocean and Beaches

On the water and on the sand, our research explores ocean health and evolution so we can better understand how to protect and preserve the largest area of Earth.

Satellite imagery shows the difference between current and average sea surface temperatures in the Eastern Pacific Ocean as a literal heatmap.
Photo Credit
NOAA Satellites
Sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean were already far higher than average by the first week of June 2026 due to El Niño.

El Niño has become more intense over last 40 years than the previous 1,000 years

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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
a photo cradle attached to the rail of steps leading to beach
Photo Credit
Sonia Fernandez
The CoastSnap cradle on the steps to East Campus Beach

UC Santa Barbara researchers launch CoastSnap, citizen science initiative to monitor coastal changes
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 large industrial fishing vessel surrounded by seabirds
A trawler off the coast of South Africa

A ‘fish cartel’ for Africa could benefit the countries, and their seas
The head of a California red-legged frog peers out from lily pads
Photo Credit
Gary M. Fellers/USGS
California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) surfaces in a pond in Point Reyes National Seashore, Calif.

Seeding climate solutions for California’s amphibian communities and iconic beaches
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
fishers just off a Pacific island shore
Photo Credit
Jacob Eurich
Fishers coming home on a paddle canoe after fishing on the fore reefs of Abaiang, Kiribati

Researchers build and test a framework for achieving climate resilience across diverse fisheries
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