New research suggests lengthy stretches of calm, glassy water -- features called 'surface slicks' -- serve as nurseries for dozens of fish species, many of them commercially and ecologically vital.

"The open ocean has long been considered a physical and biological barrier for dispersal of most coastal marine species, creating geographic boundaries and limiting distributions," researchers said.

An international research team led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon has, for the first time, succeeded in visualizing and ...

Contrary to popular belief, the open ocean is not just empty space with a few animals here and there. The cold, dark waters between the surface and the seafloor are filled with billions of ...

Researchers have discovered a dramatic and unexpected shift in the Southern Ocean, with surface water salinity rising and sea ...

Ocean skaters live their entire lives perpetually running about on the surface film of the open seas, enduring lashing storms and feeding on tiny prey trapped on or just below the ocean surface.

A unique study will provide valuable new insights into the concentrations of microplastics in the open ocean from surface to the sea bed, say scientists. A unique study by scientists at the ...

Even during the coldest 750,000 years, the Arctic Ocean had open water and sustained life thanks to seasonal sea ice. “Our ...

Meanwhile, in the open ocean, rising sea surface temperatures and algal blooms are possibly impacting how light travels through the upper layers.

As the Arctic Ocean warms and sea ice shrinks, will the newly exposed sea surface see a plankton population boom and a burgeoning ecosystem in the open Arctic Ocean? Not likely, say a team of ...