Extensive freshened water beneath the ocean floor confirmed for the first time
MARUM Center for Marine Environmental Sciences
Published: 5 February 2026
IODP Expedition 501 directly documented a vast freshened water system nearly 200 metres thick beneath the ocean floor off New England, a first-of-its-kind confirmation involving 41 scientists from 13 nations.
Keywords: IODP, ocean drilling, freshwater, subseafloor, hydrogeology, sediment cores, New England, aquifer
Two Scripps-Named Marine Species Make Top 10 List
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Published: 19 March 2026
Iskra's glitter worm and the Elven abyss tunicate, described by Scripps scientists, were named to the WoRMS Top 10 Marine Species of 2025, spotlighting deep-sea biodiversity from whale falls to abyssal depths.
Keywords: new species, deep sea, WoRMS, taxonomy, marine biodiversity, polychaete, tunicate, species discovery
New study reveals long-term impacts of deep-sea mining and first signs of biological recovery
National Oceanography Centre
Published: 26 March 2026
A NOC-led study published in Nature found that mining tracks in the Clarion Clipperton Zone remain visible 44 years later, but some organisms including xenophyophores have begun to recolonise the disturbed seabed.
Keywords: deep-sea mining, biological recovery, Clarion Clipperton Zone, seabed mining, SMARTEX, polymetallic nodules, benthic ecology
