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Ocean Portal by The Smithsonian Institution

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PHOTO Shortfin Mako Shark The shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) is found offshore in tropical and warm temperate waters of all oceans, but has been known to travel to cooler waters at times. It is very strong a...MORE PHOTOS


	BLOG POST MORE STORIES Ray Bradbury and the Sea Today Ray Bradbury died. It might seem strange that I'm writing about Bradbury h...
	IMAGE GALLERY MORE GALLERIES Image Gallery: The Perfect Underwater Photo For nearly 35 years, National Geographic photojournalist Brian Skerry has been i...
	PHOTO MORE PHOTOS Bowl Glazed with Deep Ocean Sediments Massachusetts ceramics artist Joan Lederman glazes her work—including this bowl—...

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					Adélie Penguins Face Off Apr 15, 2013 - 10:25AMThese cute Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) are actually having a bit of a spat. In the spring (October for them), the penguins form breeding colonies on rocky coasts with thousands of birds in a group. Krill, a tiny...

Harp Seal, Prince Edward Island National Park, Canada

Apr 3, 2013 - 9:04AM

Harp seals are protected in the United States by the Marine Mammal...

Grey Reef Shark, West New Britain, Father Reefs, Papua New Guinea

Mar 28, 2013 - 9:45AM

Gray reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) are known for being active at...

SPOTLIGHT


Five Questions for Callum Roberts, Author and Professor Callum Roberts is a professor of marine conservation at the University of York in England and an author. His first book,...

Tiger Shark Sep 29 2011 - 1:53pm Three bar jacks and a female tiger shark, nearly 4-meters long, swim off the coast of the Bahamas in this image captured by National Geographic photojournalist Brian Skerry.	Ocean Views Award Winners, 2011 Jun 21 2011 - 3:19pm Thanks to a passionate group of fearless ocean photographers, you can stare-down a yellow-mouth moray eel, a sperm whale, and a harlequin shrimp. These are just three of the subjects in the 2011 Nature's Best Photography Ocean Views Contest. Like the animals they captured with their cameras, the...
"Blue Planet" Music Video Jul 15 2010 - 6:32pm “Blue Planet” is a song on the Oceans Are Talking CD, produced by musician Sam Lardner. Listen to more inspirational songs for kids and adults, including “What Can I Do?” “Humanatee,” and “Pteropods” at Oceans Are Talking. For more about the project, read the Ocean Portal's Q&A with Sam.	Veined Octopus at Anilao Batangas Pier, Philippines Jul 13 2012 - 9:11am The veined octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus), also known as the coconut octopus, has a skill beyond other cephalopods: it hides under animal and coconut shell, which it drags along the seafloor for protection. This is one of the few examples -- if not the only example -- of tool use in...
Sperm Whale, Dominica Jun 21 2011 - 12:28pm “For the past few years I have visited the island of Dominica to enjoy its beauty both above and below the surface. This photo was taken during a lucky encounter with a member of the ‘group of 7’ pod. A very young calf measuring about 25 feet long came over and played with us for well over 45...	Out of the Blue, an Oceans Dance May 25 2012 - 12:40pm Ocean, a dance choreographed by Fran Spector Atkins, combines interpretive dance with scientist interviews, photography, and ocean facts to spread a message of ocean conservation -- a "balanced message that inspires and doesn't devastate," she said. Check out this video clip from the introduction...
The Coral Gardener Mar 22 2011 - 10:18am A still from The Coral Gardener, part of the 19th Annual Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital. The film is about Austin Bowden-Kerby, a man who gardens corals to help rebuild reefs.	Creature Feature from the Census of Marine Life Aug 2 2010 - 1:36pm In a decade long project, which ended in October 2010, scientists with the Census of Marine Life traveled the world cataloging the ocean’s life forms. From Australia to China to the Gulf of Mexico and beyond, these researchers documented tens of thousands of diverse creatures, which...
Climate Change Education in Coastal Carolina Mar 30 2011 - 1:33pm What is climate change, and how is it affecting coastal Carolina? That is the question that a group teens from Isaac Bear Early College High School set out to answer for their Third National Student Summit on the Ocean & Coasts project.	The Perfect Underwater Photo Dec 19 2011 - 11:57am There is of course, no such thing as the perfect photograph, as there is no perfect song, movie, or painting. Photography by its very nature is subjective and what appeals to one viewer may not interest another. There are photographic elements however, that have been proven to make images better,...
Detail of The Smithsonian Community Reef Oct 14 2010 - 11:48pm Detail of the Smithsonian Community Reef, a local, community-created "satellite" to the Institute For Figuring's Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef exhibit.	The People's Reef Oct 14 2010 - 4:58pm The People's Reef, a part of the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef, from above. The HCCR was created by Margaret and Christine Wertheim of the Institute For Figuring and is on exhibit at Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History from October 16, 2010 to April 24, 2011.
Hammerhead Shark, Cocos Island, Costa Rica Dec 23 2010 - 1:32pm “This shark was cruising low along the reef known as Alcyone. Her left eye was glancing up toward other hammerheads when I took this shot from below.” -- Nature's Best photographer, Alan Studley. See more beautiful ocean photos in our slideshow of winners from the 2010 Nature's Best Ocean Views...	Great Barracuda, Witu Islands, Papua New Guinea Oct 18 2012 - 12:22pm “A four-foot-long barracuda is visible flashing past me, with the sky and the lights of my boat seen above.” -- Nature's Best photographer, Yeang H. Ch’ng. See more beautiful ocean photos in our slideshow of winners from the 2010 Nature's Best Ocean Views photo contest.
A Rainbow of Crocheted Corals Oct 14 2010 - 11:30pm Visitors to the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef temporary exhibit at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History saw both the main installation created by to the Institute For Figuring and the stunning Smithsonian Community Reef created by local crafters.	Adélie Penguins, Paulet Island, Antarctica Jun 28 2012 - 8:30am “As we motored around Paulet Island in a Zodiac boat, these two curious penguins waddled across an iceberg to get a closer look at us.” -- Nature's Best photographer, Phillip Colla. See more beautiful ocean photos in our slideshow of winners from the 2010 Nature's Best Ocean Views photo contest....