An official website of the United States government. Here's how you know we're official.

Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure websites use HTTPS

A small lock or https:// means you’ve safely connected to a .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

National Ocean Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Home Ocean Facts Archive

Archive

Browse through all of our Ocean Facts.

What is the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)?
17 Nov 2022
What is latitude?
14 Oct 2021
What is longitude?
14 Oct 2021
What is a barrier island?
5 Mar 2021
How long do Greenland sharks live?
1 Mar 2021
How much oxygen comes from the ocean?
12 Jun 2020
What are plankton?
30 Mar 2020
Can we clean up, stop, or end harmful algal blooms?
30 Oct 2019
What are coquina and tabby?
11 Jul 2019
What is the carbon cycle?
4 Apr 2019
What is a sponge?
14 Mar 2019
What is a tide pool?
22 Feb 2019
What is the most common form of ocean litter?
29 Nov 2018
What is an archipelago?
29 Nov 2018
What is the intertidal zone?
8 Nov 2018
What causes seasickness?
19 Oct 2018
What is a heat dome?
16 Aug 2018
Do we still need lighthouses?
3 Aug 2018
What is a canal?
19 Jul 2018
What do windward and leeward mean?
13 Jul 2018
How many high tides are there per day?
11 Jul 2018
What is a SOFAR?
21 Jun 2018
What is a lagoon?
15 Jun 2018
How do hurricanes affect sea life?
17 May 2018
What is a glass sponge?
10 May 2018
What is the Bloop?
7 May 2018
How do hurricanes form?
25 Apr 2018
What is a hydrophone?
16 Apr 2018
What is ecoforecasting?
6 Apr 2018
What is a gyre?
9 Mar 2018
How Many Species Live in the Ocean?
1 Mar 2018
Are tides higher when the moon is directly overhead?
26 Feb 2018
What is a meteotsunami?
14 Feb 2018
What is a watershed?
8 Feb 2018
What is a current survey?
8 Nov 2017
What is a backscatter?
2 Nov 2017
What is a ghost forest?
26 Oct 2017
Where is Earth’s Largest Waterfall?
19 Oct 2017
What is eutrophication?
6 Oct 2017
What is high tide flooding?
4 Oct 2017
How does sand form?
16 Aug 2017
What does the ocean have to do with human health?
31 May 2017
What is a Rossby wave?
31 May 2017
Why should we care about the ocean?
24 May 2017
What are the Totten Beacons?
24 May 2017
What is a tide gauge?
24 May 2017
What are brain corals?
22 May 2017
What is a catcher beach?
11 May 2017
What is a King Tide?
11 May 2017
Where do I get real-time and forecast coastal conditions?
11 May 2017
What is the fastest fish in the ocean?
11 May 2017
How does sea ice affect global climate?
4 May 2017
What causes a sea turtle to be born male or female?
21 Apr 2017
What are the oldest living animals in the world?
24 Feb 2017
What are the Roaring Forties?
8 Feb 2017
What is the Pineapple Express?
26 Jan 2017
Are all fish cold-blooded?
26 Jan 2017
Where do fish go when it freezes outside?
21 Dec 2016
What is ocean noise?
21 Dec 2016
What are the trade winds?
17 Nov 2016
How are satellites used to observe the ocean?
7 Nov 2016
What is a sea lamprey?
27 Oct 2016
What is an oil seep?
27 Oct 2016
What is coral spawning?
15 Sep 2016
Why do scientists measure sea surface temperature?
15 Sep 2016
What is marine telemetry?
28 Jul 2016
What are the doldrums?
15 Jul 2016
What are beach advisories and beach closures?
1 Jul 2016
What are microplastics?
27 Jun 2016
How does land-based pollution threaten coral reefs?
24 Jun 2016
Can a coral reef recover from bleaching and other stressful events?
24 Jun 2016
How does overfishing affect coral reefs?
21 Jun 2016
How does climate change affect coral reefs?
20 Jun 2016
How do sea turtles hatch?
15 Jun 2016
What is ocean etiquette?
13 Jun 2016
What is the highest point on Earth as measured from Earth's center?
25 May 2016
What is the difference between local sea level and global sea level?
11 May 2016
What is a living shoreline?
11 May 2016
What is an oil spill trajectory?
10 May 2016
What is a pocosin?
25 Apr 2016
What are barnacles?
14 Apr 2016
What is GPS?
23 Mar 2016
What is the Great Loop?
21 Mar 2016
What color is an iceberg?
3 Mar 2016
What is marine biogeography?
25 Feb 2016
What is the Forchhammer's Principle?
9 Feb 2016
What is seaspeak?
20 Jan 2016
What is GRAV-D?
12 Jan 2016
What is a NOAA tide table?
4 Nov 2015
What are the vampire squid and the vampire fish?
30 Oct 2015
How does NOAA help clean up oil and chemical spills?
22 Oct 2015
What is a maritime forest?
16 Oct 2015
What is a High Seas Forecast?
8 Oct 2015
What is a bight?
9 Sep 2015
What is a thermocline?
28 Jul 2015
What is a Portuguese Man o’ War?
22 Jul 2015
What is subsidence?
2 Jul 2015
What is a wetland?
6 May 2015
What is HAZMAT?
23 Apr 2015
What is an ocean glider?
3 Apr 2015
What is glacial isostatic adjustment?
23 Mar 2015
How does NOAA monitor water levels around the nation?
18 Mar 2015
How do natural disasters contribute to marine debris?
11 Mar 2015
What is a marsh organ?
11 Feb 2015
What is a nautilus?
6 Feb 2015
What is a platypus?
4 Feb 2015
What is spat?
22 Jan 2015
What is a turbidity current?
12 Jan 2015
What is geocaching?
20 Nov 2014
What is a geographic information system?
19 Nov 2014
What is the Census of Marine Life?
12 Nov 2014
What is aquaculture?
7 Nov 2014
What are Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems?
31 Oct 2014
What is an Operational Forecast System?
23 Oct 2014
Why does the ocean have waves?
23 Oct 2014
How far does sound travel in the ocean?
29 Sep 2014
Do fish sleep?
16 Sep 2014
What is blue carbon?
4 Sep 2014
What is PORTS®?
11 Aug 2014
What is nuisance flooding?
30 Jul 2014
What is tectonic shift?
18 Jul 2014
What is a whale fall?
13 Jun 2014
What are the horse latitudes?
5 Jun 2014
Are horseshoe crabs really crabs?
14 May 2014
What are PBDEs?
21 Apr 2014
When Was the First Earth Day?
19 Apr 2014
What is a pelagic fish?
26 Mar 2014
What is bombogenesis?
25 Mar 2014
What do geodesists do?
19 Mar 2014
What is the International Date Line?
10 Mar 2014
What is the longest-lived marine mammal?
5 Mar 2014
What is an anchialine pool?
31 Jan 2014
What is an artificial reef?
3 Dec 2013
Are there oceans on other planets?
19 Nov 2013
What is dredging?
4 Nov 2013
What is a slough?
23 Sep 2013
Is the Earth round?
18 Sep 2013
What is a hurricane?
19 Aug 2013
Was Moby Dick a real whale?
31 Jul 2013
Why do we name tropical storms?
16 Jul 2013
What is a seiche?
26 Jun 2013
Why do mariners use port and starboard instead of left and right?
24 Jun 2013
What is a fish ladder?
16 May 2013
What is a bivalve mollusk?
22 Apr 2013
What is ocean acidification?
1 Apr 2013
What is a Plimsoll line?
26 Feb 2013
What is lidar?
23 Jan 2013
What is the most venomous marine animal?
15 Jan 2013
Why do we have spring tides in the fall?
28 Nov 2012
What is the difference between storm surge and storm tide?
26 Nov 2012
What is the mariner's 1-2-3 rule?
20 Nov 2012
What is the difference between a hurricane watch and a warning?
27 Sep 2012
What is the difference between an AUV and a ROV?
17 Sep 2012
What is shoreline armoring?
24 Aug 2012
What is the difference between a nautical mile and a knot?
6 Aug 2012
What is 'Old Sow'?
16 Jul 2012
Are mermaids real?
27 Jun 2012
Where is Point Nemo?
15 Jun 2012
What's the difference between a threatened and endangered species?
18 May 2012
Why are scientists concerned about Asian tiger shrimp?
27 Apr 2012
What is a perigean spring tide?
3 Apr 2012
What is sea foam?
8 Mar 2012
How big is the Atlantic Ocean?
21 Feb 2012
What is a datum?
1 Feb 2012
What is the Sargasso Sea?
25 Jan 2012
How do we forecast harmful algal blooms?
6 Jan 2012
What are Christmas tree worms?
22 Dec 2011
Does coral jewelry make a good gift?
15 Dec 2011
What is an iceberg?
30 Nov 2011
What is the cryosphere?
30 Nov 2011
Where do I get NOAA tides and currents data?
29 Nov 2011
What is a turkeyfish?
23 Nov 2011
What is the geoid?
17 Nov 2011
What is Digital Coast?
14 Nov 2011
What is the law of the sea?
14 Nov 2011
How do I get NOAA nautical charts?
7 Nov 2011
What makes the green turtle...green?
18 Oct 2011
What is a historical map or chart?
7 Oct 2011
What is ghostfishing?
27 Sep 2011
Are sea cucumbers vegetables?
13 Sep 2011
What is the Storm QuickLook?
7 Sep 2011
What is the difference between weather and climate?
10 Aug 2011
How did the Pacific Ocean get its name?
13 Jun 2011
Is there gold in the ocean?
8 Jun 2011
Are starfish really fish?
1 Jun 2011
Why are aquatic plants so important?
26 May 2011
What are jellyfish made of?
26 May 2011
What is seaweed?
5 May 2011
How can you tell the difference between an oil slick and an algal bloom?
26 Apr 2011
How did the Hawaiian Islands form?
13 Apr 2011
Do the Great Lakes have tides?
4 Apr 2011
How much of the ocean have we explored?
1 Apr 2011
What is lightering?
21 Mar 2011
What is air gap?
28 Feb 2011
What is a marine national monument?
12 Feb 2011
What is VDatum?
3 Feb 2011
What is a salt marsh?
27 Dec 2010
What is Natural Resource Damage Assessment?
8 Dec 2010
What threats do seabirds face?
17 Nov 2010
What's the difference between a seal and a sea lion?
25 Oct 2010
How does pressure change with ocean depth?
20 Oct 2010
What is NERRS?
13 Oct 2010
What ocean basin has the most corals?
7 Oct 2010
Are coral animals or plants?
6 Oct 2010
What is the EEZ?
1 Oct 2010
How do we monitor tides?
15 Sep 2010
What is a navigation response team?
30 Aug 2010
Why is the ocean salty, but rivers flowing into it are not?
23 Aug 2010
What is the difference between a dolphin and a porpoise?
18 Aug 2010
What is marine forensic science?
10 Aug 2010
What is an invasive species?
6 Aug 2010
Why does the ocean get colder at depth?
28 Jul 2010
What makes the right whale "right"?
21 Jul 2010
How long is the U.S. shoreline?
14 Jul 2010
Where is the largest estuary in the United States?
7 Jul 2010
What is an eddy?
28 Jun 2010
What is the difference between a hurricane, a cyclone, and a typhoon?
22 Jun 2010
What is the largest sea turtle?
15 Jun 2010
Why is data on currents important?
9 Jun 2010
What is a waterspout?
4 Jun 2010
What is the significance of the NOAA logo?
26 May 2010
What is the Loop Current?
21 May 2010
What is a seamount?
14 May 2010
Can penguins fly?
11 May 2010
How does oil impact marine life?
4 May 2010
What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?
22 Apr 2010
How is bathymetric data used?
2 Apr 2010
How do sanctuaries protect marine life?
25 Mar 2010
What are brain corals?
15 Mar 2010
Are dolphins fish?
10 Mar 2010
What is bathymetry?
2 Mar 2010
What is bioluminescence?
12 Feb 2010
What is a tidal wave?
8 Feb 2010
Do alligators live in the ocean?
1 Feb 2010
Is sea level the same all across the ocean?
21 Jan 2010
How is ocean observing data used?
19 Jan 2010
What is the Bermuda Triangle?
8 Jan 2010
What is the National Spatial Reference System?
4 Jan 2010
Where is all of the Earth's water?
15 Dec 2009
What is federal consistency?
11 Dec 2009
What is the smallest ocean?
30 Nov 2009
Do whales make noise?
23 Nov 2009
What are the three main types of coral reefs?
20 Nov 2009
Where is the largest protected area in the National Marine Sanctuary system?
19 Nov 2009
What lives in a kelp forest?
10 Nov 2009
What is maritime heritage?
5 Nov 2009
How do we measure currents?
28 Oct 2009
What was the first national marine sanctuary to be designated?
20 Oct 2009
What threats do coastal communities face?
15 Oct 2009
Are all algal blooms harmful?
8 Oct 2009
Did I find a lost underwater civilization?
2 Oct 2009
Why do we study tides?
1 Oct 2009
What is geodesy?
22 Sep 2009
What are PCBs?
18 Sep 2009
What is the difference between land cover and land use?
10 Sep 2009
What is nutrient pollution?
1 Sep 2009
What is resilience?
27 Aug 2009
What is an environmental sensitivity index map?
24 Aug 2009
What is a dead zone?
21 Aug 2009
What is a national marine sanctuary?
18 Aug 2009
What can I do to protect coral reefs?
10 Aug 2009
What is remote sensing?
10 Aug 2009
What is ecosystem science?
4 Aug 2009
How frequent are tides?
27 Jul 2009
What are phytoplankton?
27 Jul 2009
What is a guyot?
21 Jul 2009
Who first charted the Gulf Stream?
21 Jul 2009
How do people use kelp?
13 Jul 2009
What is the biggest fish in the ocean?
13 Jul 2009
What is "smart growth"?
7 Jul 2009
Do sharks eat people?
7 Jul 2009
What is the largest ocean basin on Earth?
30 Jun 2009
Can humans drink seawater?
29 Jun 2009
Where are marine protected areas located?
23 Jun 2009
What is IOOS?
23 Jun 2009
What are El Nino and La Nina?
17 Jun 2009
What is a kelp forest?
17 Jun 2009
What is the global ocean conveyor belt?
12 Jun 2009
What is a coral reef made of?
12 Jun 2009
How is sea level rise related to climate change?
4 Jun 2009
What is a mangrove forest?
4 Jun 2009
Is change important to estuaries?
26 May 2009
What types of plants and animals live in an estuary?
26 May 2009
What does an oceanographer do?
18 May 2009
What is a rip current?
14 May 2009
Are lionfish a threat to Atlantic Ocean fish?
24 Apr 2009
What is upwelling?
24 Apr 2009
What is marine snow?
24 Apr 2009
How long does it take to produce a nautical chart?
6 Apr 2009
What do the numbers mean on a nautical chart?
6 Apr 2009
Can the ocean freeze?
30 Mar 2009
What is a tsunami?
30 Mar 2009
What is marine debris?
30 Mar 2009
What is a current?
30 Mar 2009
Can marine debris degrade on its own in the environment?
25 Mar 2009
What does peanut butter have to do with the ocean?
18 Mar 2009
In what types of water do corals live?
16 Mar 2009
How fast is the Gulf Stream?
12 Mar 2009
What is the largest living structure on Earth?
10 Mar 2009
What's the difference between an ocean and a sea?
25 Feb 2009
What are the seven seas?
25 Feb 2009
What percentage of marine areas are protected?
18 Feb 2009
Where can I get tide predictions?
18 Feb 2009
What is a hydrothermal vent?
13 Feb 2009
What is an extremophile?
13 Feb 2009
What is coastal zone management?
30 Jan 2009
Do volcanoes occur in the ocean?
30 Jan 2009
What is a rogue wave?
28 Jan 2009
What can the ocean teach us about life on other planets?
27 Jan 2009
Where is the highest tide?
23 Jan 2009
What are tides?
22 Jan 2009
Why do we have oceans?
22 Jan 2009
How many oceans are there?
21 Jan 2009
How does sound travel in the ocean?
21 Jan 2009
Why is the ocean blue?
16 Jan 2009
How much water is in the ocean?
15 Jan 2009
What is a nautical chart?
14 Jan 2009
What do coral reefs have to do with medicine?
14 Jan 2009
Why is the ocean salty?
13 Jan 2009
What is a marine protected area?
7 Jan 2009
What's the difference between a tide and a current?
6 Jan 2009
Why do Harmful Algal Blooms occur?
6 Jan 2009
What is a red tide?
5 Jan 2009
What is the biggest source of ocean pollution?
4 Dec 2008
How far does light travel in the ocean?
3 Dec 2008
What percentage of the American population lives near the coast?
3 Dec 2008
How much of the ocean have we explored?
2 Dec 2008
What's the difference between a nautical chart and a map?
1 Dec 2008
What is a sonar?
27 Nov 2008
What species live in and around coral reefs?
26 Nov 2008
What is hydrography?
25 Nov 2008
How important is the ocean to our economy?
19 Nov 2008
What role does the Ocean Service play with our nation's aircraft and airports?
19 Nov 2008
What role does the ocean play in the weather?
18 Nov 2008
Is sea level rising?
10 Nov 2008
How do coral reefs protect life and property?
10 Nov 2008
What is the longest mountain range on earth?
7 Nov 2008
What is a benthic habitat map?
5 Nov 2008
What is an estuary?
3 Nov 2008
How do coral reefs benefit the economy?
15 Oct 2008
How deep is the ocean?
3 Oct 2008

Search Our Facts

Get Social

More Places to Visit!

Last updated:
Author: NOAA
How to cite this article