January 17, 2019
Free swimmers came back first after Great Dying
About 252 million years ago, at the boundary between the Permian and Triassic periods, the vast majority of marine and terrestrial life died out …
The EARTH archive
Marine
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15 articles · Page 1 of 1
October 16, 2018
Marine animals have been migrating for millions of years
Scientists have suspected that ancient animals migrated in response to changing global temperatures, but until now, there was no documentation of …
October 12, 2018
Globe-trotting kelp set new world record
When marine biologist Erasmo Macaya, from University of Concepción in Chile, found a piece of kelp washed up on a beach in Antarctica, he …
February 23, 2018
Oldest blood cells found in Early Jurassic ichthyosaur
Since 2005, a steady trickle of reports detailing proteins and other soft tissues preserved in fossils of dinosaurs and other ancient animals has …
December 14, 2017
Predators may have spurred evolution of ancient brittle stars
Threats to species can encourage evolution, leading to animals with harder shells or other defensive adaptations. In a recent study in the …
November 9, 2017
Marine megafaunal extinction discovered
Extinctions of large land animals during the Pleistocene are well documented. In a new study, scientists report that marine megafauna also …
July 19, 2017
Nineteenth-century cows muddied Southern California continental shelf
When offshore ecosystems deteriorate, scientists often look at changing ocean conditions, urban runoff or fishing as potential explanations. Cows …
January 19, 2017
Robotic mussels track temperature change
Among the crashing waves of rocky shorelines, tiny robotic mussels are providing scientists with insight into climate change impacts on marine …
December 27, 2016
Current marine extinction unprecedented
In today’s ocean, larger-bodied animals are more likely to become extinct than smaller creatures, according to a new study in Science. This is …
November 15, 2016
Nutrient deficiency delayed life after mass extinction
After Earth’s most severe mass extinction, life took up to 9 million years to recover — millions of years longer than after other extinction …
September 13, 2016
Hammerhead herbivore pioneered vegetarianism in Triassic seas
New fossils found in southern China hint that the earliest herbivorous marine reptiles got off to a bizarre start: Atopodentatus unicus, which …
December 15, 2015
Subseafloor biosphere extended to greatest depth yet
Scientists studying sediments collected from the deepest scientific borehole ever drilled have found microorganisms living at astounding depths …
August 21, 2015
Ancient marine reptiles born alive and ready to hunt
Mosasaurs, giant marine reptiles found in all the world’s oceans during the Late Cretaceous, may have reached up to 18 meters in length, and they …
July 20, 2012
How the school of rock came to be
In the late 1950s, a growing interest in better understanding the structure and composition of Earth resulted in the creation of the …
January 5, 2012
Sea sprawl: Into the blue frontier of ocean development
Picture it: Dozens of kilometers off the coast of Texas, a giant polygon-shaped cage constructed of steel ribs and mesh netting floats 30 or so …