Ocean

Billions of years ago, wind, heat and the rotating Earth formed currents just as they're produced today — but their paths would have been wildly different.

Light-up fish and ancient volcanic structures are among the discoveries of a new expedition to map the remote Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean.

A collapsed dam at a diamond mine in South Africa recently released a torrent of mining waste into the surrounding area. A new satellite image shows the trail of dried and potentially toxic mud left behind.

Microscopic algae that eat free-floating bacteria in the open ocean.

River bacteria can break down plant-based carbon, exhaling it as carbon dioxide.

Industrial pollution, if not curbed, could devastate marine organisms by the end of this century, a new report warns.

Plastic found in the stomachs of dead ocean birds reveals the Pacific Ocean off the northwest coast of North America to be more polluted than was realized.

Waterborne plastic debris could pose a toxic hazard to sea life.

All three lakes used to be part of the same ancient body of water.

Here are the measurements for the deepest depths in each of the world's five oceans, and a look at the unique animals that live in these deep zones.