Understanding complex nonlinear behaviors such as turbulence or space-time disorder is a huge challenge. Being able to describe these phenomena in terms of interacting objects, such as particles, defects, or solitons, is conceptually pleasing and exciting. In an article that just appeared in Physical Review Letters, an international team of researchers reports the observation of “soliton turbulence” in sea surface height measurements along the North Carolina coast. To better understand the significance of this work, read the Physics Focus article New Type of Turbulence on North Carolina’s Coast.