Ocean
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Mangroves are tough, thriving between land and sea, where salty brackish water flows in and out with the tides. The tangled roots provide shelter for fish and shellfish, birds, and animals and a nursery for juvenile species.[1] The Sundarbans in India and Bangladesh, for example, are home to crabs, river dolphins, crocodiles, and Bengal tigers.[2]…
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The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is the international legal backbone of ocean governance.[1] Defined maritime zones include territorial sea extending 12 nautical miles (M) from the coast, the exclusive economic zone where rights to sole exploitation continue another 200 M, and high seas or international waters beyond. States have…
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The deep sea, below 200 meters where light becomes scarce, is not lifeless. For example, seamounts are hotspots of biodiversity. As ocean currents meet these underwater mountains, upwellings lift nutrients to the surface, fostering phytoplankton growth and rich feeding grounds for fish, marine mammals, and seabirds. Seamounts are stopovers for migratory species such as sharks…
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Are there four or five oceans? There’s the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic, and after a half century out of favor, the Southern Ocean is once again recognized.[1] The Southern Ocean, fourth largest, is not bound by land masses like the others but encircles Antarctica. There’s really only one ocean, though, interconnected by a “global…
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During World War II, sonar seemed to show parts of the sea floor moving up and down. What was causing this? Plankton! Just after sunset, trillions of zooplankton rise to the surface of the ocean to feed, then retreat to deeper waters just before sunrise. This is called diel vertical migration and is likely the…
cloudy climate 