Pacific Ocean

Christiane Keyhani (bottom left) and Liz Yannell (bottom right), of the non-profit group Hui O Ka Wai Ola, measure water quality along Lahaina's coast. The group is part of a coalition that mobilized in the wake of the fire to closely monitor the water quality off Lahaina.

Environment

Maui community mobilizes to protect water quality from runoff after Lahaina fires

5:00am May 10, 2024

The debris from Lahaina's fire contains toxic chemicals and sits right next to a coral reef. So the community is collaborating with scientists to track water quality.

This undated photo released by and taken from the official website of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, shows a SH-60K chopper. Two Japanese navy helicopters of the same type crashed in the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo during a nighttime training flight after possibly colliding with each other, the country's defense minister said Sunday, April 21, 2024.

World News

2 Japanese navy helicopters crash in the Pacific Ocean — 1 dead and 7 missing

1:57am April 21, 2024

by The Associated Press

Two Japanese navy helicopters carrying eight crew members crashed in the Pacific Ocean during a nighttime training flight after possibly colliding with each other.

The extreme wildfire that hit Lahaina burned all the way to the coast. As the cleanup continues, rainstorms could wash toxic runoff into the ocean.

Environment

Another struggle after the Maui fires: keeping toxic runoff out of the ocean

1:55pm August 29, 2023

by Lauren Sommer

There's little that separates the ocean from the 2,200 burned buildings in Lahaina. Officials are working to block runoff that could harm the coral reefs offshore.

Members of the Chumash tribe have pushed for a decade to create a new marine sanctuary. If created, it would be the first to be designated with tribal involvement from the outset.

Environment

Biden proposes vast new marine sanctuary in partnership with California tribe

4:05pm August 24, 2023

by Lauren Sommer

The proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary would make history as the first marine sanctuary to be managed with a tribe from the outset.

Storage tanks for contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are near capacity.

5 things to know about Japan's Fukushima water release in the Pacific

1:38pm August 24, 2023

The water comes from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Although most scientists agree it does not pose an immediate environmental threat, some are worried about the long-term consequences.

Queue Listen Now

Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute studied female octopuses that nest together off Central California at a depth of about 3,200 meters.

Science

Here's why 6,000 octopuses like to be under the sea at an 'octopus garden'

2:13pm August 23, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Over 6,000 octopuses have been found huddling around an extinct volcano deep in the Pacific Ocean near California, and researchers now think they understand why the octopuses find it so cozy.

Australian Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock gives a thumbs up during a welcoming ceremony with Grupo Mar President Antonio Suarez, left, and Oscar Meza Oregó, captain of the Mexican tuna boat "Maria Delia," after being rescued from sea and arriving to port in Manzanillo, Mexico, Tuesday, July 18, 2023.

World News

Adrift for 3 months, a man and his dog lived on raw fish until rescued by fishermen

11:29pm July 18, 2023

by The Associated Press

An Australian sailor who was rescued by a Mexican tuna boat after being adrift at sea with his dog for three months said he is grateful to be alive after setting foot on dry land.

Japan plans to release more than a million tons of nuclear waste water into the Pacific.

The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog says Japan can release nuclear waste water into the ocean

10:46pm July 04, 2023

by Ashley Westerman

The International Atomic Energy Agency has approved a plan by Japan's government to dump nuclear waste water from the destroyed Fukushima power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

A piece of plastic debris that's been colonized by both costal barnacles (pink and striped) and a gooseneck barnacle from the open ocean.

This floating ocean garbage is home to a surprising amount of life from the coasts

11:00am April 17, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

A study of plastic trash hauled out of the Pacific Ocean found that most of it had been colonized by coastal life that was thriving right next to species that normally live in the open sea.

Residents pass by a flooded road from Typhoon Noru in San Miguel town, Bulacan province, Philippines. Typhoon Noru blew out of the northern Philippines on Monday, leaving some people dead, causing floods and power outages and forcing officials to suspend classes and government work in the capital and outlying provinces.

World News

Typhoon Noru leaves 6 rescuers dead in the northern Philippines

5:15am September 26, 2022

by The Associated Press

Typhoon Noru blew out of the northern Philippines on Monday, leaving five rescuers dead, causing floods and power outages and forcing officials to suspend classes and government work.