Manhattan Beach Pier at sunset, completed 1920, Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab and Aquarium (octagonal building, end of pier), Manhattan Beach, California, United States of America, North America

Adelie penguin losing down feathers on ice, Antarctica, Polar Regions

Adult Peale's Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus australis), bow-riding near New Island in the Falkland Islands, South America

The Deep, visitor attraction and study centre for marine life, architects Terry Farrell and Partners, River Humber, Hull, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

The Deep, visitor attraction and study centre for marine life, architects Terry Farrell and Partners, River Humber, Hull, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

The Deep, visitor attraction and study centre for marine life, architects Terry Farrell and Partners, River Humber, Hull, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Research yacht, Song of the Whale, working offshore. Middle of North Atlantic

Tourist on Bird Island working with resident warden to rescue Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) hatchlings from damaged nests. Seychelles, Indian Ocean (RR)

New Zealand Whale and Dolphin Trust working with Hector's dolphins (Cephalorhynchus hectori)

Aerial shot of the research yacht, The Song of the Whale, being investigated by a Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), while one of the crew tries to get a closer look fro

Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) hatchlings being rescued from a damaged nest. Bird Island, Seychelles, Indian Ocean (RR)

Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) hatchlings being rescued from a damaged nest. Bird Island, Seychelles, Indian Ocean (RR)

New Zealand Whale and Dolphin Trust working with Hectors dolphins (Cephalorhynchus hectori) Akaroa, South Island: New Zealand.

Research yacht monitoring Killer whale (Orcinus orca) activity during the winter months in the fjords of northern Norway. Tysjford, Norway.

Manhattan Beach Pier At Sunset, Completed In 1920, Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab And Aquarium (Octagonal Building, End Of Pier), Manhattan Beach, California, United States Of America

Manhattan Beach Pier At Sunset, Completed In 1920, Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab And Aquarium (Octagonal Building, End Of Pier), Manhattan Beach, California, United States Of America

Research divers from the MOC Marine Institute map out coral damage at Molokini Marine Preserve off the island of Maui, Hawaii. In the future, data from here will help to determine the health of Hawaii's reefs, Maui, Hawaii, United States of America

Research divers from the MOC Marine Institute glue broken coral heads back together and map out coral damage at Molokini Marine Preserve off the island of Maui, Hawaii. In the future, data from here will help to determine the health of Hawaii's reefs, Maui, Hawaii, United States of America

Indonesia, Alcyonarian coral dominate this reef scene with a diver.

Tara Oceans Expeditions - May 2011. Tara with deployed plancton nets. On "station", the boat is drifting without engine or sails. Tara Oceans, a unique expedition: Tara Oceans is the very first attempt to make a global study of marine plankton, a form of sea life that includes organisms as small as viruses and bacterias, and as big as medusas. Our goal is to better understand planktonic ecosystems by exploring the countless species, learning about interactions among them and with their environment. Marine plankton is the only ecosystem that is almost continuous over the surface of the Earth. Studying plankton is like taking the pulse of our planet. Recently, scientists have discovered the great importance of plankton for the climate: populations of plankton are affected very rapidly by variations in climate. But in turn they can influence the climate by modifying the absorption of carbon. In a context of rapid physico-chemical changes, for example the acidification observed today in the world's oceans, it is urgent to understand and predict the evolution of these particular ecosystems. Finally, plankton is an astonishing way of going back in time ? a prime source of fossils. Over the eons, plankton has created several hundred meters of sediment on the ocean floors. This allows us to go back in time, to the first oceans on Earth, and better understand the history of our biosphere. More than 12 fields of research are involved in the project, which will bring together an international team of oceanographers, ecologists, biologists, geneticists, and physicists from prestigious laboratories headed by Eric Karsenti of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. Galapagos

Installation of an acoustic recorder for the study of the frequentation and impact of acoustic diving, in the Natural Marine Reserve of Cerbere-Banyuls, Pyrenees-Orientales, Occitania, France