Biogeochemistry

Sunlight May Stimulate Breakdown of Ocean Plastic

A new study suggests that one form of plastic might not take as long to break down in the ocean…

How important is carbon export by ocean eddies?

A recent paper uses an ocean model to investigate the relative importance of carbon sequestration by eddies transporting phytoplankton into…

Biogeochemistry Physical oceanography

Antarctic phytoplankton blooms linked to seafloor topography

A recent study uses observations from robotic floats to examine phytoplankton blooms in the Southern Ocean. The data show that…

Biogeochemistry Biological oceanography Physical oceanography

Mixing Up Microalgae

A recent study shows that within the mixed layer—the region of the upper ocean where temperature and salinity are homogeneous—biological…

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…

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…

Biogeochemistry Physical oceanography technology

Seasonal Ice Melt Shows Signs of Blooms

Floats collected data underneath the ice during the winter and when the ice melted there were signs of phytoplankton blooms!…

Biogeochemistry Climate Change Physical oceanography Sea Ice

Sea Ice Modifies Biological Processes

A recent study investigates the relationship between sea ice variability and phytoplankton growth in climate models. Phytoplankton are responsible for…

Biogeochemistry Biological oceanography deep sea Human Health Human impacts

Not So Organic Marine Snow

What happens when plastic pollution mixes into the ocean carbon cycle? Read to find out more about how plastic from…

Biogeochemistry Climate Change Ocean Acidification

Gassing Earth Out of the Ice Age: the North Pacific

Enhanced upwelling and CO2 degassing from the North Pacific during a warm climate event 14,000 years ago may have helped…

Biogeochemistry Climate Change Physical oceanography

Predicted Change to the Southern Ocean Silicate Front

The Southern Ocean Silicate Front (SF) is an important boundary separating waters that are silicate-rich and waters that are silicate-poor.…

Biogeochemistry Biological oceanography Biology Book Review Climate Change deep sea Ecology Microbiology

Biofilms are a prominent first step in the colonization of wood-falls

A profound yet never-before-appreciated first step in the colonization of sulfur oxidizing bacteria on the surface of wood-debris in the…

Biogeochemistry

Warmer Waters Will Trap Nutrients Down Deep

Climate change is warming the ocean and altering how deep water is transported. Researchers in this study estimate that by…

Biogeochemistry

Let it Sludge!

Marine snow has a lot in common with particles that form during waste water treatment. Read on to find out…

Biogeochemistry Climate Change Physical oceanography Sea Ice

Fate of Dissolved Carbon in the Antarctic

The ocean surrounding Antarctica, called the Southern Ocean, accounts for about 40% of the total global ocean carbon uptake. This…

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…

Biogeochemistry

An arsenic surprise: How our buried past will catch up with us

Global sea level is expected to rise 0.8 to 1 meter by 2100 and may release arsenic trapped in soil.…

Biogeochemistry Climate Change

Suffocating crabs and a one-way street for carbon

Seafloor life is in danger of running out of oxygen as the ocean warms, but this may actually help to…