Intrepid tails - fluke photos confirm humpback whales mount 14,000km ocean crossing to breeding grounds
Griffith University
Published: 20 May 2026
Researchers identified two humpback whales traveling between breeding grounds in eastern Australia and Brazil by comparing 19,283 fluke photographs, with one covering 15,100 km, the longest documented journey for a single humpback whale.
Keywords: humpback whale, migration, fluke photography, citizen science, breeding grounds, marine mammal, Royal Society Open Science
MBARI researchers share latest seafloor science and technology at GeoHab 2026 conference
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Published: 21 May 2026
MBARI researchers presented a next-generation lidar system for centimeter-scale seafloor mapping and collaborative methods for detecting offshore freshened groundwater at the GeoHab 2026 conference in Malta.
Keywords: seafloor mapping, lidar, marine technology, bathymetry, groundwater detection, habitat characterization
Scientists discover over 1,100 new marine species in landmark Ocean Census
Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census
Published: 19 May 2026
The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census discovered 1,121 marine species in a single year through 13 expeditions, a 54% increase from last year, including a ghost shark chimaera and a carnivorous sponge near Antarctica.
Keywords: new species, marine biodiversity, deep sea, ocean exploration, taxonomy, ghost shark, species discovery, Ocean Census
