Ocean

Chinese scientists have revealed plans for a new tourist-centered panoramic-view submersible that will take people on an affordable trip 3,280 feet (1,000 m) into the deep – and they say the first prototype will be ready before the end of the year.

In the South China Sea, the aqua-colored waters of an expansive shallow reef platform suddenly gives way to a near vertical shaft of vast darkness – an ocean sinkhole almost entirely devoid of oxygen and, in turn, marine life as we know it.

A team of Australian bodyboarding ratbags has managed to capture staggering footage of an extraordinary oceanic phenomenon: a place where four 12-ft (3.7-m) waves regularly converge into an oval dip, with explosive results.

Later this month, German water sports enthusiast and environmental activist Michael Walther will attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean on an SUP. If he succeeds, he will be only the second person to ever do so.

Deep sea mining has been off limits because it's awfully hard, and because governments haven't yet firmed up regulations around extracting minerals offshore. That might soon change with The Metal Company's latest move – perhaps sooner than it should.

If you're setting out to build an underwater robot that's speedy, maneuverable and versatile, why not just copy what already works in the natural world? That's exactly what Beatbot has done, with its bio-inspired Amphibious RoboTurtle.

Researchers have prototyped sensor-packed robot bugs that mimic biological digestive systems to meet energy needs, employ a Janus interface for a steady supply of nutrients and move on the water's surface like a water strider.

Unpredictable monster waves at sea can severely damage ships and offshore platforms, putting the lives of those who work on them at risk. A new system out of the University of Maryland uses a neural network to provide valuable early-warning alerts.

French company Seabike has developed a swimming device that uses your own leg power to accelerate you through the water at superhuman speeds. This crank-driven pusher prop looks a bit like an underwater unicycle... We'd love to take one for a spin!

A potentially game-changing and largely unexplored energy jackpot lies beneath the ocean floor, according to a whitepaper from geoscience tech consultancy CGG. Unique conditions under the sea bed promise cheaper and more accessible geothermal power.

Wave energy remains one of the least-exploited clean energy options, with huge potential as part of a green energy grid. Finland's AW Energy is preparing to field a contender at scale – the Waveroller – which sits on the sea bed generating up to 1 MW.

In an average day, tropical oceans absorb about 278 petawatt-hours of solar energy. Harvesting just 1/4000th of that energy would supply the entire world's daily electricity – and ocean thermal energy conversion provides a possible method.