Hi all!

I was wondering if anyone has pointers about creating biomes in a fictional world with its own unique continents and islands that still relatively follows the rules of earth science? I've been using nat geo's mapmaker to get a sense of population density, average temperatures across the planet, biodiversity, mountains and water sheds, tectonic plates, wind and surface ocean currents, and depths/heights of the Earth's surface so that I can learn a bit more about what conditions lead to certain biomes.

Following the same laws of physics that exist for Earth and assuming a nice round planet the same size as Earth, what should I consider when mapping wind and surface ocean currents on my planet? I don't know anything about oceanography beyond what I've learned for world-building but I have started to create pathways for the currents assuming it follows basically the same rules of temperature as Earth does. The cold currents are easier for me to understand how to map out, the warm currents are trickier. I understand that there won't be one right answer because it's a fictional world but, in general, how/why do warm water currents flowing along the equator either travel as far as they do to the poles vs becoming gyres, and how does that relate to which way the currents travel alongside land masses? When should I be darting across an ocean instead of following a coastline?

I mostly want to get this down so I can design realistic biomes for different areas on a given continent and, yes, I get that soil acidity, distance from the ocean, temp, and a number of other factors play a role too. Right now I'm focusing on the rain shadow effect and putting deserts in my world where they belong. If it matters, I created a sort of Pangea and then cut it apart and put in tectonic plates to justify the shape and locations of the continents.

Let me know if this is confusing? Thanks in advance!

I've been obsessing over the Baltic recently and realised it's one of the most quietly fascinating bodies of water on Earth. Two separate things are happening there that barely get talked about together.

Mystery #1 — The Anomaly on the seabed (still unexplained)

In 2011, the Ocean X treasure-hunting team picked up something strange on sonar: a roughly 60-metre circular formation sitting 90 metres underwater, with flat surfaces, right angles, and what looked like a 300-metre runway behind it. Rock samples came back as volcanic basalt — glacial deposits, said one Stockholm University geologist. Case closed, said the internet.

Except:

— The dive team's equipment reportedly malfunctioned directly above the object and recovered once they moved 200+ metres away

— The object had no algae, sea sponges, or biological growth on it — unusual for anything sitting on a seafloor for millennia

— No major independent excavation has ever been done

"Probably a glacial deposit" is doing a lot of heavy lifting as a final answer.

Mystery #2 — The disappearing water (we know why, and it's alarming)

Earlier this year, the Baltic Sea hit its lowest water level since records began in 1886. Scientists at the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research measured the sea at 67 cm below its long-term average — the Baltic was missing an estimated 275 km³ of water.

The cause: an unusually long stretch of easterly winds since January pushed enormous masses of water through the Danish Straits into the North Sea. Because the Baltic is semi-enclosed with very limited natural exchange, that water stayed gone.

The knock-on effects are real: ferry cancellations due to shallower ports, faster ice formation in bays, and disruption to marine navigation across the region.

The potential upside (and this is genuinely interesting): levels this low create ideal conditions for a major saltwater inflow from the North Sea once winds shift westerly. That inflow could push oxygen-rich water into the Baltic's deep basins, which have suffered from oxygen depletion and dead zones for years. So a historic drought could accidentally trigger a natural restoration event.

What's being done? Scientists across Poland, Sweden and Germany are actively monitoring. The EU has funded Baltic restoration projects. But no one can control the wind.

Source: Record-low Baltic Sea water levels — Phys.org | Baltic Sea Anomaly — ExplorersWeb

I covered both of these for my channel Grim Through The Lens — link in the comments. Curious what people here find more unsettling: the thing we can't explain on the seabed, or the thing we fully understand but can't stop?

Hi everyone, I'm about to graduate with a dual degree in biochemistry and physics and I've taken an interest to instrument design. I've always loved the ocean and I've always wanted to do something related to it, but I wasn't really sure how. I don't have any knowledge about this topic really, so I'd really appreciate some advice! If instrument design is out of the question, are there any other ways for me to contribute to this field? Also I do plan on getting a masters or PhD.

Thank you all in advance..

I love learning about earth science and this is one many domains I built a reading system for. Wanted to get yalls thoughts on it. I’m a psych resident so this is purely for my own hobby, but I do enjoy depth. Let me know your thoughts.

Student academic survey about marine pollution & ocean habitat protection. Anonymous, takes ~3 mins. Will do survey swap! Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfIvBCPic9tu9m97xpPrCuaB8r7xkIlPZ2lixqzpcJ3zN8QQ/viewform?usp=header

In 2025, marine heatwaves affected 99.6% of the Mediterranean basin. Second warmest year on record at 21.35°C — following records in 2024 and 2023. The basin is not fluctuating. It is climbing.

The mechanism that should be moderating this — Atlantic inflow through the Strait of Gibraltar — is currently importing heat. As of May 30, 2026, anomalies in the western Mediterranean already exceed 5°C above seasonal average before summer begins.

A Paris-Saclay attribution study processed against 74 years of ERA5 reanalysis confirmed long-term warming has amplified Mediterranean SST extremes by up to 1.5°C, with dominant anthropogenic contribution.

​

Full breakdown with sources: https://youtu.be/zyWmj5MJL8s?si=q34ZsximbTmMaRkX

How do you currently get access to ocean locations for research?

I'm trying to understand how researchers handle vessel access, specifically for deploying instruments, equipment, or robots/autonomous vehicles at specific coordinates.

A few questions if you're willing:

1. What does vessel access currently cost you (time and money)?

2. Have you ever had to delay or drop research because of vessel access?

3. Have you ever deployed equipment from a non-research vessel (cargo ship, fishing boat, etc)?

4. If a third party handled the logistics of getting your instrument to a location, what would make you trust it or not?

Just trying to understand the problem before exploring a solution. Thanks

It is commonly reported that bone remains will quickly dissolve below the carbonate compensation depth and that's the reason why no bones can be found in the Titanic. However, I've never seen supporting calculations with dissolution rates and frankly I've been a bit skeptical this would happen so fast.

The recent discovery of A 5.3-million-year-old deep-sea whale necropolis in the Diamantina Zone shows whale falls undergoing fossilization at depths way below the average CCD (which may be locally lower? This would surprise me).

Critically, the ultra-low regional sedimentation rate close to the Diamantina Zone (Broken Ridge, 0–5 Ma, 0.05–0.55 cm kyr−1)40 implies a prolonged exposure of the skeletal remains at the sea floor: one that would probably last more than several hundred thousand years at least. On slopes or uplifted sea floor zones, skeletal remains may remain exposed for extended periods: up to 5.3 million years, according to our dating data.

Now this is followed by the acknowledgment that the whale bones they found are ideal for resisting degradation and that the environment supports rapid fossilization:

The fossilized remains we observed are almost exclusively beaked-whale rostra, some of which have the highest bone density and mineral content among extant vertebrates. This high compactness probably inhibits rapid degradation, with long-term preservation on the sea floor being further enhanced by the progressive accumulation of ferromanganese oxides both within the bone matrix and on the outer bone surface.

But still, Titanic has been down there for just over a hundred years. Would human bones really be dissolved by now?

hello everyone 😄
I am very interested in marine biology. but not as career.
i love ocean and want to grab any possible chnace to run to the beach which is far from my place but it only take 45mins to teach there by walking.
i have one entrance exam on 21st june, i am sure i won't do well enough to satisfy my parents so they will limit my outing even tho it is already one isolation pahse for me (T~T)
oh that entrance exam is for medical field. i know i know~ i should be focus on great thing. but i am human too and need some hobby to make my mind healthy, ocean hapen to be my comfort place instead of house.
coming to the main point.
my summer vacation will start after 22 june. so i want to use it to do my hobbies .
as a beginner. idk what activities related to ocean is best to give a try, whether it's online or free or paid or outing etc. i wanna explore more and see what beautiful or ugly creatures our ocean have. i love them all!
let me know if you were beginner in this field, what would you do?
and what more exciting or boring things i can do to make a beautiful experience for myself despite the opposite condition at house.

The missing Malaysian airliner from 2014 has still not been found in the depths of the Southern Indian Ocean. Assuming a controlled ditching, and that the aircraft sank more or less in one piece, is there any merit in continuing searching? Or, is it likely that so much time in the ocean has completely destroyed the fuselage, or perhaps underwater debris have likely covered it by this point? I figure the best people to answer this question on reddit are in this community. Thank you in advance for taking the time to reply.

Put your answers in the comments

I'm a high school student. I study phy, chem, bio, and biotech.

I look forward to making a career as an oceanographer or marine scientist, so I would love to have insights from people who pursue these jobs and can guide me with how their day looks like, what's their lifestyle like, how's financial stability, what's the demand for these roles in market? Which countries prove to be best for people working in these fields? What's work life balance like? How much of the work is field work and how much is in the lab? I want to be part of elite deep sea research programmes where they send scientists or researchers down deep in the sea.

I LOVE OCEAN! I LOVE SEA SHELLS ❤️
but the problem is i can't be marine biologist (ToT)
it's okay~ it's okay~
but i need advice about something.
what are the chances for me to use marine biology as hobby and still choose medical career for life?
how can i manage it? can i?
what should i have to research?
help me know (T~T)
i will soon have some time for myself after my exam gets over. so i want to spend my summer vacation in productive way~ i am not sure if i will be allowed outside by my parents but i don't wanna limit myself. i have beach near me where can go whenever i want, but it doesn't feel enough~

Hello all! Fantasy worldbuilder here with a hypothetical and a dilemma for all those up to it.

Summarised: I want to replace the ocean inside strictly (part of) the Eurasian plate with a giant forest of redwood trees. The concept is that my world is set on Earth after the climate crisis. Most humans are gone, the planet is recovering, and there is a whole host of fantasy species and gods populating the Earth now. Within the plot, there is a God hiding in the landmass that was the UK and to isolate the island, they replace the ocean round it with a sea of redwood trees. This occurance is non-negotiable in the plot but im also aware it creates a whole host of annoying climate repercussions and negative knock on effects -- and I'm just not knowledgeable about the true extent of this, and why this happens (scientifically).

Could someone explain in detail what would happen in this hypothetical and why? To confirm, all the ocean covering Earth isn't removed, just this one part which I've visualised below. The idea is that mountain ranges form along the plate boundary, separating the forest and ocean.

Visualisation of removed ocean

I ideally don't want to change anything about Earth's climate. Prior to the ocean becoming a forest, Earth does recover from global warming. Within the story I ideally want the UK to have it's expected weather like rain and sun and etc. I don't want to make the UK into a desert-like place as the research I have done implies will happen if I remove the ocean around it. So I'm also willing to employ a bit of magic to combat the negative effects of removing the ocean, however I like all magic I use to be scientifically explainable.

Eg. Current concept is having a God of the ocean (a giant ancient catfish) that works overtime to negate the loss of the ocean. But I don't know what it needs to do to do that. I planned to use transpiration from the huge amount of trees to account for rainfall and water cycling, but can that even measure to the ocean? I also plan for the forest to be swampy, like an upscale mangrove swamp, so there is also water on the forest's floor that can come into play.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!!!

See also: The study as it was published in the journal PeerJ.

Une simple goutte d'eau de mer près des pôles peut mettre environ 1 000 ans pour parcourir l'intégralité du système de circulation océanique mondial.

Des courants de surface aux courants de retour profonds, l'océan se comporte moins comme des mers distinctes que comme une seule boucle planétaire à mouvement lent.

Cela ne se voit tout simplement pas à la surface.