2019 had three of the warmest months on record
No, it wasn't your imagination. 2019 was a historically warm year. During the summer, dozens of cities in the US sweltered under record-high temperatures and waited out historically long hot streaks.
oceans
London has spent billions but faces realities of climate change
The stark reality of climate change is that even the cities that seem best defended against rising sea levels face the potential of catastrophic flooding.
Scientists discovered 71 new species this year
The quest for the unknown revealed exciting new discoveries this year. California Academy of Sciences researchers discovered 71 new animal and plant species in 2019.
Massive waterfall formed on Greenland's ice sheet
What may have been the world's tallest waterfall briefly formed on Greenland's ice sheet last year, draining a meltwater lake of 5 million cubic meters of water -- equivalent to 2,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools -- in just five hours.
Swimming with Hawaii's charismatic spinner dolphins stirs controversy
On the west coast of Hawaii Island, the sun rises over tall volcanoes and glints off the vast blue Pacific in Honokohau Harbor near Kailua-Kona. Tourists climb aboard waiting boats in the bright morning light, giddy at the prospect of swimming beside the island's famous spinner dolphins.
Rover explores the solar system's oceans
Astronomers have uncovered increasing evidence that some bodies in our solar system, like Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus, are actually ocean worlds.
Sea levels could rise higher than previously thought, new study says
Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are at risk of losing their homes as entire cities sink under rising seas over the next three decades, according to researchers.
Your favorite beaches could disappear
It's easy to see why millions of people flock to the beach every year.
Shell fossils show how ocean acidification can cause mass extinction
Ocean acidification caused a mass extinction of marine life 66 million years ago, research into tiny shell fossils has shown. This could have implications for the current climate crisis, which is also making the oceans more acidic.
Florida could require prescription for certain sunscreens
Some sun protection may come at a steep price for the ocean's coral reefs. Now, a Florida state senator wants to ban some sunscreens entirely for the potential harm they cause marine life.
Floating device cleans up plastic from ocean
A huge trash-collecting system designed to clean up plastic floating in the Pacific Ocean is finally picking up plastic, its inventor announced Wednesday.
Fish are in trouble with the climate crisis, IPCC report finds
Since the 1970s, the climate crisis has made our oceans warmer and more acidic, reducing the number of fish we rely on for our food and putting the future of fish in peril, according to a major UN report out Wednesday.
Authorities plan to lift dive boat wreckage
Crews are preparing to lift the wreckage of the Conception dive boat off the ocean floor on Thursday, a US Coast Guard spokesman said.
Researchers: North Atlantic right whale will soon be extinct
The fate of the increasingly rare North Atlantic right whale has always been left up to humans.
Japan may have to dump radioactive Fukushima water into the ocean
Eight years after Japan's worst nuclear disaster, the government is not sure what to do with the contaminated water that remains -- but its environment minister says dumping it into the ocean might be the only choice.
Climate change makes storms like Dorian more dangerous
Hurricanes are the most violent storms on the planet, and strong storms are getting stronger thanks to warmer oceans.
Study: Exoplanets could have better conditions for life than Earth
Earth seems like the perfect hub for life because it's the only planet known so far to host it -- but new research suggests that other planets could have oceans that are even more hospitable, offering life that is more varied than we know it.
First Titanic dives in 14 years: Ocean floor swallowing shipwreck
The RMS Titanic was visited by divers for the first time in 14 years, and the ship that was once a picture of luxury was found in the process of being swallowed up by the ocean floor and ravaged by metal-eating bacteria.
Microplastics discovered in 'extreme' concentrations in North Atlantic
Within the Atlantic Ocean is the world's only sea without shores, its borders defined by the currents of the North Atlantic gyre.
On glacier bottom in Greenland, scientists find troubling signs
On one of the hottest days this summer, locals in the tiny village of Kulusuk, Greenland, heard what sounded like an explosion. It turned out to be a soccer field's worth of ice breaking off a glacier more than five miles away.
Irish teenager may have solution for plastic-free ocean
A teenager from Ireland may have found a way to rescue our oceans from the growing plastic pollution problem.
Why New Orleans is vulnerable to flooding: It's sinking
New Orleans was built above sea level, but over time, it's been sinking.
Shark swallowed whole during rarely seen deep-sea feast
Perhaps the old saying is true: You are what you eat.
More than 40 tons of trash removed from Pacific barely makes a dent
Environmentalists have removed more than 40 tons of plastic from the Pacific Ocean.
First Warn Forecast
