Researchers investigate nutrient recycling in two Southern Ocean water masses, finding distinct pathways and consequences for global phytoplankton communities. The study reveals faster nitrogen and phosphate regeneration in Subantarctic Mode Water and greater silicate regeneration in Antarctic Intermediate Water.
A new study finds that Antarctic sea ice melt has led to an increase in salinity in the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW), a major water mass that affects ocean circulation. This change has implications for the ocean's structure and carbon cycle, potentially contributing to increased warming.
A recent study reveals the Antarctic Intermediate Water has reversed its long-term trends in salinity and density, driven by reduced freshwater input from melting sea ice. This change could impact global ocean currents, carbon storage, and climate stability, with potential cascading effects on weather patterns and atmospheric circulation.
Researchers from the University of St Andrews have uncovered a previously unknown process linking ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere to changes in ocean circulation and sea ice in the Southern Hemisphere. This process, which involves cooling of northern waters, can induce significant changes in the Southern Ocean and lead to CO2 dra...
A new study reveals how a plant's internal clock helps it respond to salt stress by triggering protective genes. Researchers found that a clock protein clusters into droplets, freeing protective genes, and that tuning crop clocks can improve stress tolerance. This discovery opens novel ways to breed more resilient crops.
A research team found that slow freezing and fragmentation can separate salts and organics in ejected material from Enceladus' ocean. This process creates chemically diverse ice grains, with each grain enriched in different salts and compounds.
Researchers found that realistic seafloor topography can sustain and reshape the key features of climate system even when continents are removed. The study revealed that ocean bathymetry plays a crucial role in driving the modern Earth's climate in the absence of land surfaces.
A recent paper suggests AI can reconstruct ocean interior, predict waves, and forecast ENSO by incorporating physical knowledge and ocean dynamics. This approach improves reliability and interpretability of AI-based predictions, especially when observations are sparse or conditions differ from training data.
Researchers mapped the Challenger Deep using the EM124 multibeam echosounder, finding a preferred estimate of 10,927 m, which highlights the importance of sound-speed models, vessel speed, and survey conditions. The study's dataset is publicly available, allowing for further validation and comparison with other observations.
Marine microbes play a vital role in ocean health, climate regulation, biodiversity, and the blue bioeconomy. They drive processes including nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and primary productivity. AMI recommends acknowledging their importance in European ocean policy to ensure a healthy, resilient, and sustainable ocean.
Researchers at Stony Brook University propose a technology to electrochemically enhance ocean alkalinity without seawater pretreatment, reducing costs and increasing carbon offset quality. This approach enables 'negative emission' carbon offsets and has significant implications for ocean carbon capture and net-zero goals.
Researchers combined narwhal measurements with historical oceanographic data to build a robust model showing how temperature, salinity, and depth are related. The study found that warm Atlantic Intermediate Water has become thicker, accelerating glacier melting and influencing ocean circulation and climate patterns.
A weakening Atlantic Ocean current system, known as the AMOC, could exacerbate global warming by distributing heat unevenly around the planet. During periods with a strong AMOC, the global ocean loses heat, while weak AMOC periods lead to a net increase in heat stored by the ocean.
Researchers investigated adding iron to the ocean to boost CO2 removal, finding varying effects on marine ecosystems. The Southern Ocean offers a favorable balance of climate impact and ecological consequences, while other regions face more severe consequences.
KIST-Ocean, an AI-based global ocean prediction model, has been developed to overcome limitations of existing ocean models. It forecasts the three-dimensional state of the ocean at five-day intervals and can generate changes down to a depth of 600 meters with significant computational efficiency.
A study published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences reveals that persistent ocean warming in the South Pacific during 2023-2024 was driven by two consecutive anomalous anticyclones over the region. The warming signal extended to depths of about 1000 m, leading to record-high sea surface temperatures and upper-2000-m ocean heat content.
A Portland State University professor has received a nearly $1.2 million NSF CAREER Award to study the predator-prey relationship of Prochlorococcus, the ocean's most abundant photosynthetic life form. The project aims to understand how single-celled ocean predators hunt Prochlorococcus and its implications for the ocean's food web.
New research suggests that Europa's shallow water reservoirs are unlikely to contain water from the deep ocean. The route from deep ocean to surface is probably much more difficult than scientists assumed, with turbulent water rising through ice cracks leading to freezing and clogging.
ADIS has collected over 165TB of ocean scans worldwide, identifying over 20,000 macroplastic items and creating a global dataset and map to track plastic hotspots. The system's second generation, ADIS2.0, is autonomously recognizing floating debris and taking detailed pictures.
Researchers found that as salinity increases in freshwater environments, microbial communities lose diversity due to faster-growing strains taking over, but maintain overall growth rates. This effect is also observed in natural ecosystems across different environments.
A new study reveals critical fine-scale spatial heterogeneity of mesozooplankton across three brackish bays of the Central and Eastern Baltic Sea. Salinity and temperature drive distinct zooplankton assemblages, with clear inter-bay community separation emerging.
A new study reveals that temperature changes in the Indian Ocean can significantly influence winter weather thousands of kilometers away in the Eastern Mediterranean, offering new opportunities to predict damaging dry spells months before they occur. Positive phases of the Indian Ocean Dipole are linked to large-scale shifts in atmosph...
Researchers found that tiny, invisible swirls in the deep ocean shape significant climate forces like sea level rise and fisheries collapse. Climate models require significant improvements to accurately predict these effects.
A new membrane-based approach for treating high-salinity brines has been developed, utilizing thermoresponsive ionic liquids as recoverable draw solutes. The system achieves stable operation under high-salinity conditions and can be regenerated using low-grade heat.
Scientists have found that 15 million years ago, the Atlantic Ocean had large low-oxygen zones, while the Pacific Ocean's zones were much smaller. A new study suggests that ocean circulation and continental position played a crucial role in shaping these zones, indicating that warming alone cannot explain changes in oxygen levels.
A Chinese research team has developed a deep learning model that can predict the South Indian Ocean Dipole (SIOD) seven months in advance, outperforming traditional dynamical forecasting systems. The model uses sea surface temperature and ocean heat content anomalies as inputs and automatically learns key features of ocean temperature ...
Researchers found that phytoplankton in the eastern equatorial Pacific were fertilized by iron from the seafloor during ice-age transitions. This suggests a possible feedback loop connecting sea level, seafloor volcanism, and ocean biology, with potential implications for climate change.
Researchers used the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model to predict internal tide sea-surface height signatures and improve SWOT satellite observations of small-scale ocean eddies. The new approach accounts for 60% more internal tide signal, yielding a clearer picture of these important ocean patterns.
A new framework developed by FSU researchers accurately models subsurface waves that interfere with satellite readings, increasing the accuracy of ocean circulation observations by 60%.
Over two decades, Biscayne Bay has become warmer, saltier, and more acidic due to climate change, threatening South Florida ecosystems. The study analyzed water quality observations collected between 2001 and 2021, finding significant increases in salinity and declining pH levels.
Researchers found that higher soil salinity can slow biochar's aging process, preserving its carbon content and reducing microbial activity. This study provides new insights for sustainable management of saline farmland and highlights the importance of microorganisms in shaping biochar's environmental functions.
SwRI has introduced a new 30-inch diameter pressure vessel, enabling faster testing of larger equipment at extreme ocean depths. The vessel can test equipment up to 16,500 psig, simulating the pressures in the deepest parts of the ocean, and features a novel quick-acting closure system.
Research suggests a symbiotic relationship between fish and their gut microbes produces minerals influencing ocean chemistry and the marine carbon cycle. The study found vibrio bacteria play a key role in ichthyocarbonate formation, which is linked to global nutrient cycles.
Research reveals tropical cyclones contribute to ocean carbon outgassing but its role is decreasing due to global warming. If emissions remain high, they may reverse to enhancing ocean carbon uptake, accelerating ocean acidification.
A new study reveals that the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) is more fragile than thought, with its dependence on data from various nations making it vulnerable to losses. The system's vulnerability is not just about data volume, but also geographic reach, emphasizing the need for a genuinely global, coordinated system.
A recent study reveals that Atlantic herring rewired its reproduction to survive in the Baltic Sea's low-salinity waters through four key genetic adaptations. These adaptations enabled the species to reproduce successfully despite the challenging environmental conditions, highlighting the importance of gene function and regulation in e...
A new study reveals that four specific genes are crucial for the Atlantic herring's adaptation to low salinity in the Baltic Sea. The genes, expressed in sperm, eggs, and early embryos, enable the fish to reproduce successfully in brackish water.
A new study by the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research has found that the biological productivity of the Southern Ocean is substantially greater than previously estimated. This discovery has significant implications for our understanding of the global carbon cycle and the marine food web.
A decades-long study of oceanographic data shows that warm water has expanded and shifted towards the Antarctic continental shelf, posing a threat to ice shelves. The Southern Ocean's circulation has changed, allowing excess heat from global warming to reach Antarctica's vulnerable ice sheets.
Field experiments in China demonstrate that applying halotolerant plant growth-promoting bacteria via drip irrigation can alleviate soil salinity stress, enhance jujube productivity and fruit quality. Drip-applied PGPB treatments also modified bacterial metabolic functions and reshaped the rhizosphere bacterial community.
Intensifying ocean eddies are amplifying climate extremes in key coastal ecosystems by redistributing heat and nutrients. This process enhances productivity in some areas while trapping heat closer to the surface, leading to rapid warming and altered regional weather patterns.
Researchers used a cabled marine observatory to study plankton abundance and variety over a four-year period. They found that long-term changes in aggregate abundance and plankton diversity were not influenced by ocean turbulence.
A new method called GOFLOW uses deep learning to measure ocean surface currents over large areas with greater detail than ever before. The approach applies to thermal images from weather satellites, requiring no new hardware.
Researchers found that increasing soil salinity slows biochar aging and limits microbial colonization. Biochar retains more carbon and shows greater structural stability in saline environments compared to low-salinity conditions.
The BBVA Foundation awards Carl Wunsch for his groundbreaking work revealing the ocean's central role in regulating Earth's climate. His innovative methods allow scientists to quantify ocean state under a changing climate, highlighting the need for a global ocean observing system.
A 37-year study by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center found that cannibalism is the primary killer of juvenile blue crabs in mid-salinity waters. However, young crabs can escape predation by migrating to shallow waters, where they are safer from adult crabs and other predators.
Researchers developed a method to use PFAS to extract lithium from high-salinity brine pools, reducing environmental damage and costs. The process, which uses electrothermal heating, recovers 82% of lithium fluoride at 99% purity, outperforming traditional methods in terms of energy efficiency and water usage.
A Rutgers researcher finds bacteria accelerate calcium carbonate dissolution in shallow seas, potentially slowing carbon sequestration and influencing climate change. The discovery sheds light on the ocean's biological carbon pump and its future implications.
Researchers found that certain salinity patterns can fuel El Niño development, increasing its intensity by 20%. This process makes extreme El Niño events more likely and causes catastrophic flooding and severe droughts. The study identified global patterns in salinity preceding major El Niño events over the past 65 years.
Researchers found that the Southern Indian Ocean has decreased in salinity by 30% over the past six decades, bringing fresh water into the region. This could disrupt major ocean circulation systems and affect marine ecosystems, including plankton and sea grass.
Researchers have developed high-density 1D ionic wire arrays that achieve simultaneous high selectivity and conductivity in ion-exchange membranes. The optimized membrane delivers ultrahigh power density of 40.5 W m-2 under a 500-fold salinity gradient.
Researchers developed the Ocean Equity Index to rate ocean initiatives on their recognition of stakeholders, inclusion in decision-making, and treatment. The index offers a practical way to prioritize coastal communities' rights and voices, leading to more equitable outcomes.
A study published in BMJ Global Health found that higher salinity in drinking water is associated with higher blood pressure and an increased risk of hypertension. Researchers analyzed data from 27 population-based studies involving over 74,000 participants across several countries.
A new study finds that soil salinization influences inorganic carbon storage, particularly in regions with elevated salinity. The research reveals a conditional relationship between salinity and inorganic carbon, highlighting the need to incorporate soil chemical processes into global carbon assessments.
Researchers propose that dense, nutrient-rich ice can separate from surrounding ice and descend into the ocean, addressing a longstanding habitability problem on Europa. The study suggests a novel idea inspired by crustal delamination, which could be a consistent means of recycling ice and providing nutrients to the ocean.
The Global Ocean Ship-Based Hydrographic Investigations Program (GO-SHIP) has been awarded the Ocean Observing Team Award for its groundbreaking contributions to ocean observing. The program's repeat hydrography measurements have documented decadal changes in ocean circulation, heat, carbon, oxygen, and nutrients.
Lisa Rom has been selected as a Fellow of The Oceanography Society for her profound impact on ocean science education, particularly through the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) network. Her efforts have strengthened connections between research and society, broadened participation in the ocean sciences, and suppo...
Zhongping Lee received the 2026 Nils Gunnar Jerlov Medal for his transformative contributions to understanding light interaction with the ocean. His work reshaped ocean color science, enabling robust global observations of ocean transparency and productivity from satellites.
The Earth's ocean stored more heat in 2025 than in any year since modern measurements began, with a record-high increase of 23 Zetta Joules. The findings indicate stronger ocean warming trends since the 1990s and highlight the importance of reducing emissions to mitigate climate change.
A study published in Nature Geoscience reveals that the end of the last ice age coincided with the emergence of salty water trapped in the deep ocean. This 'salty blob' played a crucial role in locking away carbon dioxide, which contributed to lower average temperatures.