Ocean Exploration Facts
The ocean exploration facts in this section provide short answers to common or intriguing ocean questions. The questions are organized in a series of categories; click on a category to learn more about these topics.
For many ocean exploration facts, content has been repurposed from essays posted elsewhere on the website; to access the original content, click on links available on individual ocean fact pages.
Sponges are ancient animals that may appear simplistic, but the more we study them, the more we realize how complex they are. They are bizarre and beautiful – nothing like the yellow, plastic rectangle next to your kitchen sink.
A "natural product" is a chemical compound or substance made by a living organism.
Sclerites are tiny, microskeletal structures embedded in an octocoral's soft tissue that provide the animal support and protection.
The Earth’s greatest migration and a major influencer on ocean and planetary systems.
Habitat connectivity refers to how and to what degree distinct patches of habitat are connected, which can influence the distribution, genetic diversity, and health of animal and plant populations.
An “exclusive economic zone,” or “EEZ” is an area of the ocean, generally extending 200 nautical miles (230 miles) beyond a nation's territorial sea, within which a coastal nation has jurisdiction over both living and nonliving resources.
Animals living only in marine caves have adapted to environments with low light and often low levels of oxygen.
Ocean acidification refers to a reduction in the pH of ocean water, caused primarily by uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but also by other chemical additions or subtractions from the ocean.
Not all corals live in warm water -- in fact, over half of all known coral species are found in cold, deep, and dark waters.
Squat lobsters look like lobsters, but they are actually more closely related to hermit crabs.
The coloration of animals in the ocean follows a surprisingly regular pattern by depth, most likely tied to how light pentrates ocean water and an animal's ability to blend in with its surroundings.
With structure for animals to settle and live on and currents supplying food and nutrients, the variety of life, or biodiversity, at seamounts is often rather high.