The ocean floor near Los Angeles is the largest graveyard for whales yet seen. Surveys have found evidence of more than 60 whale skeletons there. Scientists have used sonar and video cameras to map a couple of ocean basins that are centered about 15 miles offshore.

Researchers have been studying the region for years, in part because it was a dumping ground for DDT and related chemicals. Scientists are seeing how that affects life in the ocean, and how it might impact human health.

The most detailed mapping came in 2021 and 2023. It revealed many barrels of toxic chemicals, along with unexploded depth charges and other weapons from World War II.

It also revealed seven confirmed whale skeletons, of six different species, with hints of many others—more than the total seen in the rest of the world combined.

The remains of whales can feed fish and other critters for months. And, worms and microbes eventually consume even the bones. Researchers say there could be many reasons for the apparent bounty of whale skeletons. For one thing, few areas of the ocean floor have been scanned in as much detail as this one. For another, the region is packed with both whales and ships, so whales are more likely to be killed in collisions. And the deep water in the region contains little oxygen, which keeps the skeletons from decomposing.

Future expeditions will continue to map the region—perhaps finding even more remains in this graveyard for whales.

The image of more than a hundred thousand aircraft carriers floating through the air might sound like a scene from a Doctor Strange movie. But the weight of all those carriers equals the amount of carbon dioxide that humanity has pumped into the air every year over the past decade or so—11 billion tons per year. The carbon dioxide traps heat, warming the atmosphere.

The oceans help slow that process by absorbing about a quarter of the CO2 from the air, according to a recent report. More CO2 was being absorbed in parts of the North Atlantic and Southern Oceans.

Some of the carbon dioxide is dissolved into the water as winds blow across the surface. And some is taken in by microscopic organisms, which use sunlight to convert the CO2 into food.

The process is more efficient when the ocean surface is warmer. So more carbon is absorbed during El Niño years. But we’ve had several La Niña events in recent years, which bring cooler waters, reducing the carbon uptake.

Over time, a lot of the CO2 works its way into the deep ocean, allowing the surface to absorb even more. Some of it accumulates in the sediments on the ocean floor, where it can form rocks.

The extra carbon dioxide creates problems for the oceans as well. In the atmosphere it warms the water, and in the water it interferes with some creatures’ ability to make their shells, for example. So those floating “aircraft carriers” are a big problem—no matter where they dock.

When a hurricane or tropical storm rolls through, most birds fly around it, or find refuge in the calm “eye” at its center. But not the Desertas petrel. It can ride out the storm, then follow the system for days—all to catch an easy meal.

The petrel nests on a tiny, craggy island off the northwestern coast of Africa. There are only a few hundred of the birds, which are about the size of a pigeon. They’re strong fliers: every year they make a 7500-mile round-trip to the eastern North Atlantic Ocean.

Researchers attached GPS devices to 33 petrels. They tracked the birds for several weeks a year for four years. And they compared the birds’ movements to the paths of six hurricanes during those periods. And they got a surprise: About a third of the birds followed the storms—something that no other ocean-going birds have ever been seen to do. Some of the petrels stuck with the hurricanes for up to five days and 1500 miles.

The reason appears to be food. The hurricanes churned up the ocean, bringing water packed with nutrients to the surface. And that probably attracted some of the petrels’ favorite foods: squid and small fish and crustaceans.

The birds normally have to wait for night for these creatures to rise to the surface. But during the storms, there should have been an abundant supply near the surface around the clock. And the smorgasbord could’ve continued for days—providing a good reason for Desertas petrels to tag along.

The massive fire that engulfed Lahaina, on the Hawaiian island of Maui, killed more than a hundred people, and burned down more than 2200 buildings. And it had a much wider impact as well—on the offshore coral reef.

The fire roared to life on the morning of August 8th, 2023. Fueled by drought, low humidity, and strong winds, it destroyed much of Lahaina, displacing more than 10,000 people.

Ash from the fire drifted offshore and settled atop the reef. Firefighting chemicals and debris from the fire washed into the ocean as well. The contamination threatened the reef and the many creatures that live there. And any damage to the reef could heighten the human misery, because people depend on the reef for food and tourism dollars.

Within days, researchers from the University of Hawaii began studying the reef system. They sampled the water, and set out water-quality sensors at key locations. They also worked with locals to catch fish from the best fishing spots. All of the samples were then analyzed for traces of contamination.

Early analysis revealed high levels of copper—possibly from coatings on the hulls of boats that burned in the fire. It also showed high levels of lead. The levels of both elements have since gone down to safe levels. Zinc went up as well, and climbed even higher after heavy rains washed more contaminants into the water.

Scientists continue to monitor the reef—seeing how it recovers from a human and environmental tragedy.

When beluga whales want to communicate with each other, they just use the ol’ melon—a blubber-filled structure on their forehead. Researchers have found that the whales intentionally change the shape of the melon. That may convey different emotions or intentions—whether they want to play, mate, or just hang out.

Belugas live in and around the Arctic Ocean. They have a thick layer of blubber to protect them from the cold. And they don’t have a fin on their back, which allows them to easily glide below the ice.

They use their melon to send out pulses of sound, which helps them locate prey and predators and keep tabs on their fellow whales. They produce such a variety of sounds that they’re called “the canaries of the sea.”

Belugas are the only whales known to change the shape of the melon. Researchers studied what the shapes might mean. They spent a year observing two males and two females in an aquarium. And they followed up with shorter looks at more than 50 whales in a second location.

The scientists recorded more than 2500 melon shapes, which fit into five major categories. Almost all of the changes in shape took place when a beluga was around another whale. Many of the changes were associated with courtship, with males about three times more likely to make a change than females. But other changes were related to other social interactions, such as playing. So when a beluga has something to say, it just uses the ol’ melon.

The most powerful undersea volcano ever recorded had an impact on our entire planet—from pole to pole, and all the way to outer space. And it may continue to impact parts of the world for years.

The Hunga Tonga volcano is in the southern Pacific Ocean, well east of Australia. It staged a massive eruption in January of 2022. It blasted more than two cubic miles of rock and ash into the sky, and created tsunamis all across the Pacific. Shock waves in the atmosphere raced around the planet for days.

Satellites and balloons recorded effects at altitudes of up to about 180 miles. The eruption rattled the ionosphere—an electrically charged region that extends well into space. That disrupted some GPS signals and radio communications.

Hunga Tonga also blasted about 150 million tons of water vapor into the atmosphere. By late 2023, most of the water was still there. In fact, a layer of atmosphere a few dozen miles high contained more water vapor than had ever been seen there before.

In the southern hemisphere, the combination of water vapor and sulfur from the eruption damaged the ozone layer during the winter and spring of 2023.

And one study found that the aftermath of the eruption could affect the climate in parts of the world through 2029. North America could see warmer winters, while the winters in Scandinavia and parts of Australia could be colder and wetter—lingering effects of a monster volcano.

One of the changes that goes along with aging is hair color. Red, blonde, black—regardless of the original color, our hair almost always turns gray or silver.

Fish don’t have hair, but many of them do change color as they age. They can take on different color schemes as they move through different stages of life.

Fish change color for many reasons. Some of the changes happen in a flash—a fish might blend into the background to protect itself from predators. Other changes are more gradual. A fish might change color when it switches gender, for example.

Many fish keep the same basic scheme throughout life—especially those that spend their lives in the open ocean. The ones that are more likely to change color as they age are those that move around—they’re born in one place, but they shift habitats as they grow and mature.

Salmon, for example, have stripes when they hatch, in rivers and streams. When they move out to sea, though, they take on a smoother, silvery tone. American eels, on the other hand, are colorless when they hatch, in the open ocean. But as they mature, and move into rivers and streams, they turn dark on top and light-colored on the bottom. And when they return to the ocean to spawn, they turn silvery bronze.

And in some species, only some members change color as they age. Only males of the bluehead wrasse adopt the namesake color, and only when they mark out a territory—a colorful signal that they’re ready to take a mate.

Some of the largest cities in Southeast Asia could be hit by bigger, badder tropical cyclones in the decades ahead. A recent study found that warmer seas and air could change where storms in the region form, how quickly they ramp up, and how long they hang around. The changes could be especially deadly for major cities along the coast.

Researchers used computer models to simulate more than 64,000 cyclones in the region during three eras: 1881 to 1900, 1981 to 2000, and 2081 to 2100. For the future decades, they looked at what conditions would be like under both moderate and extreme warming for the rest of this century. They compared the results for past decades to real storm systems.

The models showed that tropical cyclones—both typhoons and smaller systems—are likely to be born farther north in the western Pacific Ocean, the South China Sea, and the Bay of Bengal, near India. That puts the storms closer to land. The systems are likely to strengthen much more quickly. And they’re likely to last longer after they move ashore. That means higher storm surges, heavier rains, and stronger winds—a deadly combination.

The study said the cities likely to be hardest hit are Bangkok, Thailand; Haiphong, in Vietnam; and Yangon, in Myanmar. Today, their combined population is about 17 million. But they’re expected to grow quite a bit by the end of the century—putting more people at risk from powerful tropical cyclones.

Storms on the Sun can have both beautiful and annoying results. They create widespread displays of auroras—the northern and southern lights. But they can damage satellites, disrupt radio communications, and knock out power grids on the ground. They might even cause some whales to strand themselves.

Solar storms produce huge outbursts of energy and charged particles. Among other things, those outbursts can change the strength and direction of the lines of magnetic force around Earth. Many animals rely on the magnetic field for navigation, including some birds and fish, sea turtles, and lobsters. The list also includes at least two species of whale: gray and sperm whales.

Studies in recent decades have found correlations between the strandings of these whales and solar storms. One study, for example, looked at 400 years of sperm whale strandings in the North Sea. It found much higher stranding rates in years when the Sun was especially “stormy.” A study of 30 years of gray whale strandings found similar peaks—especially when the Sun produced a lot of radio static.

Researchers speculate that the storms could essentially “blind” the whales to the magnetic field. The disoriented whales then could find themselves in shallow waters, and unable to escape.

There’s no confirmation that the storms are causing these strandings. So scientists are studying the subject in greater detail—trying to understand how storms on the Sun can affect life in the oceans.

The female blanket octopus glides through the ocean like a winged phantom. When she’s threatened, she extends some of her arms. That spreads the webbing between the arms, like a flowing cape. The shiny cape makes the octopus look bigger—perhaps scaring away predators.

The octopus is impressive even without the cape. An adult female can be six and a half feet long—the size of a basketball player. Her mate, on the other hand, is about as big as a walnut—perhaps an inch across. And a female may weigh up to 40,000 times as much as a male. That’s the biggest difference in the size of adult males and females in the animal kingdom.

Blanket octopuses are found around the world. They’re in the open ocean and around coral reefs. They’re immune to the sting of a Portuguese man-o’-war, so males and young females sometimes tear off the tentacles and use them to defend themselves against predators.

These octopuses are rarely seen. In fact, the first live male wasn’t discovered until 2001. In part, that’s because of its size—it’s tough to spot something that small in the open ocean. In addition, the male is almost colorless.

A male grows a long arm that it fills with sperm. When he finds a mate, he rips off the arm and hands it to her—then dies. She then stores it in a pouch until she’s ready to fertilize her eggs. She may accept the arms of several suitors. After the eggs hatch, she may die as well—the final act for this phantom of the oceans.