The Top Ten Ocean Stories of 2017
From wind turbines to massive sunfish to octopus cities, the seas proved full of surprises this year
By Danielle Hall , Emily Frost
December 15, 2017
This year, the depths of the world’s oceans revealed a host of watery secrets, from octopuses that live in teeming underwater cities to the discovery of a massive new sunfish. Here at the Smithsonian, we highlighted key stories of ocean conservation successes at our first-ever Smithsonian Earth Optimism Summit in Washington, D.C. Hopeful stories continued to make news headlines: This year, sea turtle numbers are on the rise and two new marine protected areas were established—one off the coast of Easter Island and one in the Pacific Ocean off the Mexican coast.
At the same time, the seas also proved the source of tragedy and concern, from record-breaking storms to the decline of whales and porpoises to the continued reign of ocean plastic. As we do every year, the National Museum of Natural History’s Ocean Portal team sifted through the deluge to bring you the top ocean news of the year, both good and bad. We hope at least one of these stories will leave you with a sense of optimism for the year to come.
Read more:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/top-ten-ocean-stories-2017-180967550/#lvda9yq4f7UIOBDx.99
