Oceanography | Marine Science and Ocean Stories

 Satellites can reveal what is happening at sea. SkyTruth founder John Amos explains how seeing previously hidden oil slicks from space changed the course of his career, and why he believes environmental data should be free and public. The conversation follows satellite imagery, AIS vessel tracking, and machine learning into tools such as Global Fishing Watch and Cerulean, which make fishing activity and ocean pollution easier...

Naming ocean life is the first step toward protecting it. In a live conversation with his former professor, host Clark Marchese asks marine biologist Dr. Manuel Caballero Gutiérrez how many species live in the sea and why the answer remains uncertain. The episode follows marine taxonomy through deep-sea expeditions, DNA analysis, museum collections, and formal species descriptions, connecting species discovery with marine biodivers...

What happens at the deepest points of the ocean? This week on Oceanography, we’re sharing a special feed drop episode from Deep Sea Pod, hosted by Thomas Linley and Alan Jamieson — two scientists many of you may already recognize from previous Oceanography episodes like What Is the Deep Sea Even Like? and Ocean Trenches Explained.

In this episode, Professor Alan Jamieson takes listeners on a deep dive into the hadal...

Where does climate change stand as 2026 unfolds? This Green Frequency crossover steps back from the ocean to assess the wider climate system. Climate scientist Dr. Claudio Piani and student activist Averie Gannon examine global emissions, the Paris Agreement, renewable energy progress, and why every fraction of a degree still matters. It is a grounded climate change 2026 briefing on what is improving, where the gaps remain, and why...

Elephant seals collect data where ships rarely can. In this South Pole crossover, Dr. Clive McMahon explains how animal-borne sensors turn deep-diving southern elephant seals into partners in Southern Ocean monitoring. The tags collect temperature, salinity, depth, and ocean productivity data, especially during the Antarctic winter. The episode also explores seal behavior, population decline, Antarctic Bottom Water, climate monitor...

Solar geoengineering is also a question of power. Hassaan Sipra of the Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering explains the governance and climate justice issues surrounding solar radiation modification. The conversation centers Global South and climate-vulnerable communities, meaningful participation, consent, research transparency, and the absence of robust international rules. It also makes clear that climate inte...

Cleaner ship fuel created a climate experiment. Meteorologist Dr. Michael Diamond explains how shipping emissions influence cloud formation above the ocean and how the IMO sulfur cap changed that signal. Combined with disruptions to major shipping routes, the policy gave researchers a rare natural experiment for studying aerosols, clouds, and climate. The results also inform current questions about marine cloud brightening without ...

Reflecting sunlight would also change the ocean. Dr. Kelsey Roberts explores stratospheric aerosol injection through ocean and marine ecosystem models. The conversation examines possible changes to sea surface temperature, ocean chemistry, net primary production, fisheries, and food webs under different scenarios. It also explains why modeling is useful at this early stage and why the uneven ecological, economic, and social trade-o...

Brighter marine clouds could cool parts of the ocean. Climate scientist Dr. Jessica Wan explains marine cloud brightening, a proposed solar geoengineering method that would add sea-salt particles to low marine clouds. Learn how stratocumulus clouds reflect sunlight, what climate models suggest about regional cooling, and why scale, uncertainty, side effects, and governance matter. The episode treats marine cloud brightening as a re...

Can the ocean keep carbon out of the atmosphere? Oceanographer Dr. Morgan Raven explains marine carbon dioxide removal and the search for environments that can store organic carbon for long periods. The conversation moves through mangroves, fjords, oxygen-poor waters, and deep-sea brines to examine ocean carbon sequestration. It also makes the uncertainties clear, including measurement, ecological risk, coastal differences, and wha...

Ocean conservation can begin with ancestral relationships. Conservation scientist Juan Carlos Cruz explains how the Ancestral Tides initiative supports biocultural conservation with Indigenous and local coastal communities across Latin America. The work brings Indigenous knowledge and marine science together around sea turtle conservation, mangroves, coral reefs, and nesting beaches. The episode centers community leadership, cultur...

Every ocean trench is a world shaped by geology. Professor Alan Jamieson guides a journey into the hadal zone, beginning around 6,000 meters below the surface. Learn how tectonic plates create ocean trenches, why pressure and isolation produce distinct habitats, how life survives at full ocean depth, and what decades of deep ocean exploration have corrected about the popular image of a single empty abyss.

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The deep sea is not one dark, featureless place. Deep-sea researcher Dr. Thom Linley maps the ocean below sunlight as a connected world of depth zones with changing pressure, temperature, food, and life. From the bathyal and abyssal zones to hadal trenches, the episode explains how animals adapt, why scientific boundaries are useful but imperfect, and what technology is required for deep ocean exploration.

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The ocean is losing oxygen, with effects across food webs. Dr. Sven Pallacks explains ocean deoxygenation, how oxygen enters and moves through seawater, and why oxygen minimum zones develop. The episode connects warming, circulation, dead zones, and marine life, then uses fish ear stones called otoliths to examine past declines in mesopelagic fish. A clear introduction to an invisible change reshaping ocean ecosystems..

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Ocean science only matters if people can connect with it. Science communicator Anabelle Chaumun explains why marine biodiversity is difficult to make visible, why misinformation can outpace evidence, and how ocean storytelling can stay accurate while still feeling human. The episode also introduces EMBRC's network of European marine stations and explores documentary photography, ethics, representation, and science communication as ...

Microplastics research has reshaped the questions. Dr. Winnie Courtene-Jones reviews what ocean microplastics science now shows about sources, movement, accumulation, and effects on marine food webs. The conversation also maps the major unknowns, including nanoplastics, fragmentation rates, and thousands of chemicals associated with plastics. It closes by connecting marine pollution research with policy and negotiations for a Globa...

A marine heat wave can make the land even hotter. Japan Meteorological Agency scientist Hirotaka Sato explains how the 2023 marine heat wave near northern Japan amplified record-breaking summer temperatures onshore. The episode traces ocean-atmosphere heat transfer, cloud and humidity feedbacks, and weakened sea-breeze cooling to show how unusually warm water can intensify extreme heat and complicate climate forecasting and coastal...

Oil-spill science starts long before a disaster. Marine microbial oceanographer Dr. Alice Ortmann explains why baseline ocean data are essential for detecting change around offshore oil and gas activity near Newfoundland. Learn what counts as an oil spill, how oil and methane move through the water, and how marine microbes help researchers assess deep sea ecosystem health, pollution risk, and environmental response before and after...

For 50 years, one ship carried ocean science to sea. As the R/V Endeavor retires, operations manager Brendan Thornton and veteran captain Chris Arminetti look back on the people, expeditions, and practical work that kept a floating laboratory running. The conversation follows the research vessel's final voyage, its role in training generations of oceanographers, and what its legacy means for the next generation of ocean research in...