Biogeochemistry
Reduction in Deforestation Influencing Atmospheric CO2
Since 2000, atmospheric CO2 hasn’t been rising as quickly as we expected. It may be because plants on land have…
Author: Julia Dohner
Julia is a PhD student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. Her focus is on biogeochemistry, which, as the name suggests, centers on the combined effects of biological, geological and chemical processes on the earth system. She is advised by Dr. Ralph Keeling and is modeling the global carbon cycle to better understand how much carbon dioxide ends up in the atmosphere. When not at her computer writing code, Julia can usually be found reading and/or thinking about food.
Biogeochemistry
Evidence of the Ocean Releasing CO2
Starting 8,000 years ago, a modest but unusual rise in atmospheric CO2 has kept our planet livable and paved the…
Climate Change
What’s happening to carbon in the warming Arctic?
The Arctic, warming at unprecedented rates, is undergoing profound changes. Using recent atmospheric CO2 measurements, Su-Jong Jeong and his colleagues…
Climate Change
The future according to the Paris Agreement? Not so simple.
Meet the Paris Agreement goal and limit the human-caused rise in average global temperature to 1.5 ˚C? Sounds good. Do…
Fisheries
Ocean to Table Mercury: a Rising Risk
For fish eaters, mercury consumption is an ever-present worry but often pushed to the backs of our minds. But the…
Biological oceanography
The Declining Japanese Eel Population: Is Ocean Circulation to Blame?
Recent declines in Japanese eel populations have been attributed to overfishing, but that may not be the only factor at…
Ocean Acidification
More Intense Summer to Winter Swings in Oceanic Dissolved CO2
Ocean CO2 levels vary depending on the time of year. Landschützer and his colleagues are the first to show that…
Policy
Which Paris Agreement Countries Mention the Ocean, and Why?
Do nations mention the impact of climate change on the ocean in their Paris Agreement pledges? And why do some…
Ocean Acidification
Ocean Acidification: No Longer Confined to the Sea Surface
Acidification, one of the highest-visibility impacts of human activity on the ocean, was thought to be confined to its upper…
Natural History
Uneven Ocean Warming as the Planet Shed its Ice
Our oceans underwent major changes when the planet transitioned from the Last Glacial Maximum to our current interglacial (or “between…
Biogeochemistry
What happens to CO2 levels during El Niño?
Thanks to NASA’s new Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 satellite, we now know when and where CO2 levels change during El Niño,…
Biogeochemistry
The Subtle Response of Plants to Rising CO2 Levels
Plants need carbon dioxide. What do they do when there’s more and more of it in the atmosphere?
Biogeochemistry
New Evidence of Erosion, Weathering and CO2 Together Regulating Glacier Formation
Ice cover on earth extends and recedes over thousands of years. But what drives these fluctuations? Moreover, what guarantees that…
Climate Change
Carbon Dioxide In and Methane Out: the Surprising Chemistry of an Arctic Methane Seep Field
The bad news: coastal frozen sediments in the Arctic are melting and emitting methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the…
Biological oceanography
Harmful Algal Blooms Find Homes Further North as Waters Warm
Before the late 20th century, reports of illness from toxin-producing algae had been absent from most northern coastlines. But in…
Human impacts
New Nitrogen in Town: Nitrogen Deposition on the Open Ocean
Life in the ocean depends on a variety of nutrients, an important one being nitrogen. Phytoplankton, at the bottom of…
Biological oceanography
The Missing Mechanism: How Ocean Fronts Impact Sinking Organic Matter
Phytoplankton are central to the ocean’s carbon cycle, converting carbon dioxide into organic molecules that sink into the sea’s interior.…
Climate Change
A New Tool for Understanding Where Carbon Dioxide Goes
We know that CO2 is being absorbed from the air by the ocean, but how can we measure how much…
Climate Change
Is the Deep Ocean Warming Too?
It’s been shown that the surface of the South Pacific Ocean has been warming by absorbing excess heat from the…