Marine geology is the branch of Earth sciences that investigates the composition, structure, and evolution of the ocean basins and continental margins, integrating methods from sedimentology, geophysics, geochemistry, and tectonics. It examines processes such as seafloor spreading, subduction, sediment transport and deposition, volcanic and hydrothermal activity, and the formation of features like mid-ocean ridges, trenches, seamounts, and passive margins. Marine geological research relies heavily on seismic reflection profiling, coring, dredging, and remote sensing to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions, quantify sediment budgets, and constrain models of plate boundary dynamics and crust–mantle interactions beneath the oceans.
Heriot-Watt scientists have discovered giant underwater mud waves buried deep below the Atlantic Ocean, 400 kilometers off the coast of Guinea-Bissau in west Africa.
Earth Sciences
May 7, 2025
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In a study published today in Science Advances, researchers from the Ocean Discovery League reveal that only a minuscule fraction of the deep seafloor has been imaged. Despite covering 66% of Earth's surface, the deep ocean ...
Earth Sciences
May 7, 2025
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170
In shallow coastal waters around the world, mud and other fine-grained sediments such as clay and silt form critical blue carbon sinks. Offshore infrastructure such as wind turbines and oil platforms, as well as fishing practices ...
Earth Sciences
May 6, 2025
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Between 252 and 66 million years ago, the ocean underwent a revolution. That's when plankton with calcium carbonate skeletons colonized the open ocean. When they died, their remains fell like snow over large parts of the ...
Earth Sciences
May 1, 2025
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The ocean's deep-sea bed is scattered with ancient rocks, each about the size of a closed fist, called "polymetallic nodules." Elsewhere, along active and inactive hydrothermal vents and the deep ocean's ridges, volcanic ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 29, 2025
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Mining ocean resources needed for electric cars and other devices is currently a hot issue of dispute. Final resolution of how or whether the seabed should be exploited is pending. Outcomes in this contentious area could ...
Space Exploration
Feb 3, 2025
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