Life
These scientific feats set new records in 2024
Noteworthy findings include jumbo black hole jets, an ultrapetite frog, ancient asteroid remnants and more.
Oceans
More Stories in Oceans
- Climate
Climate change has amped up hurricane wind speeds by 29 kph on average
Every single Atlantic hurricane in 2024 had wind speeds supercharged by warming seas. One even jumped two categories of intensity.
- Oceans
The world’s largest coral was discovered in the South Pacific
The behemoth coral, discovered in October in the Solomon Islands, is longer than a blue whale and older than the United States.
- Oceans
How tiny phytoplankton trek long distances upward in the ocean
Taking in seawater while filtering out dense salts lets unicellular phytoplankton migrate tens of meters vertically toward sunnier seas.
- Oceans
A transatlantic flight may turn Saharan dust into a key ocean nutrient
Over time, atmospheric chemical reactions can make iron in dust from the Sahara easier for organisms to take in, helping to create biodiversity hot spots.
- Climate
How rapid intensification spawned two monster hurricanes in one week
New maps of wind impacts beyond Helene’s ‘cone of uncertainty’ track highlight how a hurricane’s power extends far inland.
- Oceans
A vital ocean current is stable, for now
The Florida Current, a major contributor to a system of ocean currents that regulate Earth’s climate, has not weakened as much as previously reported.
- Oceans
National Geographic’s ‘OceanXplorers’ dives into the ocean’s mysteries
National Geographic’s documentary series ‘OceanXplorers,’ produced by James Cameron, invites you aboard one of the most advanced research vessels in the world.
- Climate
Record-breaking Coral Sea temperatures threaten the Great Barrier Reef
Near-annual extreme heat in the Coral Sea, including in 2024, is causing back-to-back mass bleaching events in the iconic Great Barrier Reef.
- Oceans
In a seafloor surprise, metal-rich chunks may generate deep-sea oxygen
Instead of sinking from the surface, some deep-sea oxygen may be created by battery-like nodules that split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
The warm surface of the North Atlantic Ocean boosted the wind speeds of Hurricane Milton in October, enhancing the tempest from Category 4 into Category 5.
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The world’s largest standalone coral (shown) has been discovered off the coast of the Solomon Islands.
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The phytoplankton Pyrocystis noctiluca is able to navigate vertically upward in the ocean by ballooning to six times its size. Here, individuals under the microscope are shown before and after inflation.
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Strong winds carry millions of metric tons of Saharan dust over the Atlantic Ocean each year. This image, taken July 26, 2022, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite, shows dust swirling south and west off the nations of Mauritania and Western Sahara.
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The Florida Current bends around the Florida peninsula, whisking warm, salty water from the Gulf of Mexico into the northbound Gulf Stream. It is a crucial piece of a large system of ocean currents that regulates Earth’s climate.
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The OceanXplorer floats in the distance while a small crew stands on the ship’s smaller motorboat. A new National Geographic series follows the OceanXplorer’s travels.
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Blistering Coral Sea temperatures from February to April 2024 led to the Great Barrier Reef’s fifth mass bleaching event in eight years, turning patches of staghorn (shown) and other coral species stark white.
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Metallic nodules (such as the 10-centimeter one seen above being collected from the North Atlantic Ocean seafloor in 2021) can act like weak batteries and produce enough voltage to split seawater into hydrogen and oxygen, new research suggests.
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