Prattipati Shivshankar Rao is the first Indian scientist to sail the seabed of the mid Atlantic ridge. His search for hydrothermal fields and vents also known as deep sea geysers took him on an unus

Guts of the ocean

Before Jacques-Yves Cousteau churned the depths of the ocean, people saw only its surface. It is only his endeavour that made millions of people aware of the vast treasure trove and home to several

A submarine tractor will help scientists understand the seabed

Brine shrimps have the ability to revive after years without oxygen

An unique sea-floor observatory to keep a watch on two under-sea volcanoes is in the offing near the coasts ofWashington and Oregon in the US. Part of the National Science Foundation's RIDGE

The distribution of carbonate on the floor of the Pacific has been remapped on the basis of 1313 points from 80 references stored in the World Ocean Sediment Data Bank of Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Percent distribution maps and carbonate versus depth diagrams generally agree with previously published information and reflect the major controlling factors of carbonate sedimentation (depth, hydrography, fertility, and sedimentary processes). While carbonate distributions are of limited use in attempting to construct dissolution profiles, major trends are identifiable.

Algal neurotoxin enters deep-sea food web, kills whales while crab cakes and marinated clams make for delightful cuisine, shellfish poisoning is a health risk. Shellfish feed on algae that produce harmful toxins. Domoic acid (DA) is one such neurotoxin, dangerously high levels of which are produced during algal blooms of the species, Pseudo-nitzschia. The toxin was earlier believed to

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