Ocean Coverage

What is a rip current? What to do if you feel the pull

Each year, lifeguards along the Carolina coast rescue hundreds of people. The majority of those swimmers are those caught in rip currents.

Heat threatens marine reefs, scientists move corals indoors for survival

The hot tub-level temperatures are threatening the vital barrier reef ecosystem and scientists say the worst may be yet to come.

Ocean temperatures are so hot, scientists are moving coral indoors

Scientists are moving coral from the ocean to indoor nurseries in an attempt to save them from superheated seawater, after ocean temperatures in the Gulf exceeded 100 degrees.

Liz McLaughlin, WRAL Climate Change Reporter

'It feels like a hot tub': Unprecedented marine heatwaves are cooking oceans across the globe

About 44% of oceans across the globe are experiencing extreme ocean temperatures, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and scientists say the worst is yet to come.

Liz McLaughlin, WRAL climate change reporter

44% of oceans across the Earth are experiencing marine heat waves

Scientists say recent marine heat waves are unprecedented and there could be dire consequences.

'I've never seen the ocean in the states this beautiful': Grand Strand beaches experience blue water phenomenon

Kat explains why the water is unusually blue at Myrtle Beach

The Atlantic coast is not known for crystal blue waters, so we wondered why Myrtle Beach water looks so blue.

Great white sharks tracked near Outer Banks, Myrtle Beach ahead of Memorial Day weekend

Breton, a 1,437-pound great white, pinged off of the South Carolina coast near Myrtle Beach on Monday around 7:30 p.m.

How they voted: NC congressional votes for the week ending May 11

A look at how North Carolina members of Congress voted during the previous week.

Targeted News Service

Researchers describe thrill of reeling in massive great white sharks off NC coast

Expedition leader Chris Fischer says there's a different type of thrill when bringing in the large predators compared to the excitement you see from big game fishermen.

Catching great whites for research like 'teaching a dog to heel'

An expedition by great white shark research group Ocearch just wrapped up off of the North Carolina coast. The group has studied hundreds of sharks around the world and equipped them with global positioning tags so scientists and the public can track the sharks' movement.

Cullen Browder, WRAL anchor/reporter

NC coast a hotspot for great white sharks to congregate

Chris Fischer and a team of scientists from around the world hope the information gathered can solve a 2,000-mile puzzle about how great whites move up and down the East Coast.

Migrating great white sharks off NC coast could provide final piece of puzzle to help oceans thrive

Researchers with Ocearch just wrapped their latest great white shark expedition off our coast. Scientists hope to find out why the predators congregate off our coast this time of year and more importantly, what they're doing while paying North Carolina a visit.

Cullen Browder, WRAL anchor/reporter

Great white sharks as long as 9 feet being caught off NC shoreline

Massive great white sharks are being caught off the North Carolina coast! Learn what researchers are looking for right off our shoreline.

Countries agree on historic oceans treaty to protect the high seas

Nearly 200 countries have agreed to a legally-binding "high seas treaty" to protect marine life in international waters, which cover around half of the planet's surface, but have long been essentially lawless.

By Laura Paddison, CNN

NASA prepares mission to study depth, flow of seas, lakes, rivers

Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) will produce near-instantaneous images of sea surface height and measure the height of land water bodies, revealing changes in sea, lake and river levels down to centimeter resolution (less than half an inch).

Tony Rice, NASA Ambassador

Immersive James Cameron deep sea exhibiton coming to NC Museum of Natural Sciences

An immersive exhibition from director James Cameron will open this month at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

See where shark attacks are happening across the US

When it comes to shark attacks, Florida typically tops global charts. But recently, New York has been making headlines for a spate of dangerous encounters that have rattled New Yorkers and triggered beach closures.

Nouran Salahieh, Zoe Sottile and Renée Rigdon, CNN

Some beaches turn to drones to catch sharks swimming close to shore

NBC's Aaron Gilchrist has details on why some beaches are using drones to spot sharks before they get too close.

UNC prof and world (and space) traveler explores the deepest point on Earth

From traveling to space and going to the deepest point on Earth, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor has had a busy year.

Sydney Franklin, WRAL multiplatform producer

UNC professor Jim Kitchen returns from deepest point on Earth

Just months after visiting space, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor Jim Kitchen traveled to the deepest point in the ocean!

Warm air has 'sea fog' invading some NC beaches

The warm up that North Carolina will experience in the coming days is bringing an unusual weather phenomenon to some of its beaches: Sea fog.

Ryan Bisesi, WRAL multiplatform producer

Ocean temperatures were the hottest ever in 2021

Officials say this continued rise in temperature is the fault of humankind.

Be careful in the ocean: Activity in tropics means high rip current risk

There's a risk for rip currents along the North Carolina coast until Tuesday night because of activity in the tropics. On Monday, lifeguards at Carolina Beach and Wrightsville Beach made 10 rip current rescues.

Bryan Mims, WRAL reporter

This cargo ship's captain died aboard. The crew was stuck at sea for weeks, with a potential COVID outbreak on its hands

Captain Angelo Capurro started showing symptoms of Covid-19 on his second day at sea. Within five days, the 61-year-old skipper was confined to his cabin, unable to get out of bed.

By Teele Rebane and Livia Borghese, CNN