On a South Pacific research expedition, Angelicque White and Ricardo Letelier encountered a surprise: An intense red tide surrounded the ship. (Photo: Angelicque White)
Year: 2011
An erupting undersea volcano near Guam in the western Pacific continues to reshape the seafloor.
Lionfish memo to coral reefs in the Bahamas: There’s a new predator in town.
Hope Rides on Tagged Gray Whale
Mate has pioneered the tracking of whales through devices that can adhere to whales for hundreds of days, communicate with satellites and relay their locations on a daily basis.
Tipping Point
In the summer, you may have to go 20 miles out to sea to find it, but close to the seafloor, near the edge of Oregon’s continental shelf, is a preview of the future: water as acidic as what the world’s oceans may be like in 50 to 100 years.
Sea Change
All Karel Houtman needed to know his location was a clear sky, a sextant and a chart. He always felt more comfortable at sea than on land and would steer his way unerringly across the nearly 5,000 water-to-the-horizon miles from Oakland, California, to Yokohama, Japan. For him, driving from home to the grocery store along streets crowded with cars and traffic signs was a journey through a strange land.