Rivers & Oceans, features and articles | Educational Science

Oct 31, 2005

New England Rivers Melting Sooner in Spring

Winter in New England just isn't what it used to be. And now scientists have a released new numbers that illustrate the change. The total number of days of ice on the region's rivers has declined significantly in recent decades and particularly in the spring. The study examined the number...

Oct 31, 2005

Seas Rising at Twice the Rate of 150 Years Ago

Earth's oceans are rising twice as fast today compared to 150 years ago, according to a new study. The rise is nearly 2 millimeter per year. At that rate, sea level will be 1 inch higher in 13 years compared to today. The increased pace is evidence for human-induced climate...

Mar 31, 2005

Salmon of Small Stature Endowed with Mating Advantage

Picture the wee little salmon. Choosing not to go to sea, he's waited for a mate for what seems like a lifetime in a streambed in the mountains of Idaho. Months and months go by, perhaps years. Finally she arrives, and she's a whopping 20 pounds. He, having stayed behind,...

Jan 31, 2006

Making Waves: Power Plant Would Create False Shoreline

Big ocean swells could one day be as exciting to homeowners as they are to surfers, thanks to an innovative new device that harnesses the power of waves to produce cheap, clean electricity. Pioneered by scientists at Energetech, a small alternative-energy company in Randwick, Australia, a prototype of the $1.5-million...

Nov 30, 2007

In Photos: Monster Waves

Dropping In (Image credit: Getty Images / Staff)Oahu knows how to make waves. Here, surfer Noah Johnson drops into a 30-foot-high (9 meters) behemoth on the Outer Reefs on Nov. 15, 2000. Johnson was striving for the $60,000 prize in the Swell.com/Surfline Big-Wave Awards. Between Nov. 15, 2000 and March...

Oct 31, 2007

Life at Sea: An Oceanographer's Adventure

This Behind the Scenes article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation. Life at sea is very different from life on land . . . Or is it? It may be hard to imagine spending weeks at a time at sea, but for many in our...

Oct 31, 2008

Incredible Deep-Sea Discoveries Announced

An astounding batch of new deep-sea discoveries, from strange shark behavior to gigantic bacteria, was announced today by an international group of 2,000 scientists from 82 nations. The Census of Marine Life is a 10-year project to determine what's down there. Among the new findings: A large proportion of deep...

Sep 30, 2008

Arctic Grows Stormier

The Arctic has become more stormy in the past 50 years due to the warming climate, which in turn has quickened the pace of drifting sea ice, a new NASA study finds. Based on model results, climate scientists had long predicted that a warming climate would increase the frequency and...

Feb 29, 2008

Study: Ocean 'Deserts' Expanding

The ocean's deserts, where it is difficult for marine organisms to survive, are expanding faster than predicted and have been linked to warming ocean waters, a new study shows. These barren areas are found in roughly 20 percent of the world's oceans and are within what are called subtropical gyres,...

Oct 31, 2009

Giant Crack in Africa Will Create a New Ocean

A 35-mile rift in the desert of Ethiopia will likely become a new ocean eventually, researchers now confirm. The crack, 20 feet wide in spots, opened in 2005 and some geologists believed then that it would spawn a new ocean. But that view was controversial, and the rift had not...

Oct 31, 2009

Sea Star Swells With Tides

A species of sea star has figured out a novel way of keeping cool on rocky shorelines. The animal literally soaks up chilly water during high tides to protect itself from the blazing temperatures that persist when the tide goes out, scientists announce today. Sea stars live at the ocean...

Jul 31, 2009

Louisiana Native Takes on Storm Season

Editor's Note: ScienceLives is an occasional series that puts scientists under the microscope to find out what makes them tick. The series is a cooperation between the National Science Foundation and LiveScience. Name: Ian Giammanco Age: 29 Institution: Texas Tech University Field of Study: Ph.D. in Wind Science and Engineering...

Jun 30, 2009

Amazon River Dated to 11 Million Years Old

The Amazon River and its current lengthy and transcontinental bed is about 11 million years old, according to a new study. Previously, the river's exact age was unknown, researchers say. The Amazon, which starts in the Andes and flows easterly into the Atlantic Ocean, originated as a transcontinental river back...

Mar 31, 2009

New Clues to Sea's Green Glow

An eerie green glow that sometimes emanates from ocean waters was known to be produced by bioluminescent worms, but now scientists have uncovered some key clues as to just how the creatures produce their light show. The show isn't for us. Marine fireworms use bioluminescence to attract suitors in an...

Feb 28, 2009

Growing Acid Problem Thins Shells of Ocean Creatures

Scientists have started to see some of the expected effects of Earth's increasing carbon dioxide burden: The shells of microscopic animals in the ocean are becoming thinner thanks to the ocean's absorption of some of that excess carbon dioxide, a new study shows. The shells of those creatures studied are...