Ecosystems
Voyages into the Antarctic Winter
At the extreme ends of the Earth, Antarctica is a vast, rocky continent, mostly ice-covered and barren. Surrounding Antarctica, the Southern Ocean is equally vast, cold, and ice-covered. But unlike the land, it teems with life, ranging from microscopic plankton to top predators: whales, seals, penguins, fish, and sea birds.
Big Trouble from Little Squirts
Welcome to the online version of Oceanus, the magazine that explores Earth's last frontier. Oceanus…
The Coastal Ocean Institute
We are all stewards of the coastal ocean. For some of us, the connection to…
Rites of Passage for Juvenile Marine Life
The childhood of a barnacle is fraught with challenges. It hatches in shallow waters close…
Life in the Arctic Ocean
Capped with a formidable ice and snow cover, plunged into total darkness during the winter,…
The Evolutionary Puzzle of Seafloor Life
Most of Earth's crust is manufactured at the bottom of the sea. Deep beneath the…
ALISS in Wonderland
In 1985, Cindy Van Dover, then a graduate student in biology in the MIT/WHOI Joint…
Deep-Sea Diaspora
When spectacular biological communities were first discovered at hydrothermal vents in 1977, biologists puzzled over…
Marine Snow and Fecal Pellets
Until about 130 years ago, scholars believed that no life could exist in the deep…