By sampling seawater around Antarctica, a Japanese research team has discovered microorganisms that can transform nitrogen gas into more biologically useful forms of nitrogen. But why do the microbes have this strange ability, and why do they have it here? Amanda SemlerI’m a PhD candidate in Earth System Science at Stanford University, and I study […]
An increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations helped end the last ice age. But what caused the carbon dioxide increase in the first place? A team of scientists used the fossilized skeletons of deep-sea corals to find out. Amanda SemlerI’m a PhD candidate in Earth System Science at Stanford University, and I study how microbes […]
Changes in the Southern Ocean can affect global climate, and understanding the Southern Ocean’s response to climate change helps us better predict future climate. A team of researchers have looked into this question to predict how human impact on Earth’s climate will affect the Southern Ocean and its ecosystem in the near future. Jiwoon ParkI […]
Picture this: shrink yourself down to the 1/1000th the size of the period at the end of this sentence. You are now the size of a bacteria. Due to your dimensions, you are so incredibly light (around 0.0000000000000000007 pounds) that the slightest wind could pick you up and move you around. Around most of the […]
A recent study demonstrate the critical importance of Antarctic winds and meltwater to modeling the recent observed changes in Southern Ocean physical and biogeochemical properties. These results have implications for improving future climate projections. Channing PrendI’m a physical oceanography PhD student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. I use a combination of […]
Carpenter-Kling, T., et al. “Gentoo penguins as sentinels of climate change at the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Archipelago, Southern Ocean.” Ecological Indicators 101 (2019): 163-172. The newest indicator of climate change is here, and it is penguin puke? While it might seem a little far-fetched, researchers in the Southern Ocean are using the stomach contents of […]
A recent study uses observations from robotic floats to examine phytoplankton blooms in the Southern Ocean. The data show that biological productivity is closely linked to seafloor topography. This is because currents flowing over seamounts cause enhanced mixing that delivers nutrients to the sunlit upper ocean where phytoplankton grow. Channing PrendI’m a physical oceanography PhD […]
In 2016 and 2017, a massive hole developed in the Antarctic sea ice. Scientists investigated the processes that led to this formation and found that it was related to anomalous saltiness and storm activity in the region. Channing PrendI’m a physical oceanography PhD student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. I use […]
While it might seem silly to care about what the ocean was doing 10,000 years ago, these old oceans impacted how Earth’s climate is today! Read more here to find out about what might have caused the Pacific Ocean to ‘burp’ the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which helped end the ice age! […]
A recent study shows that within the mixed layer—the region of the upper ocean where temperature and salinity are homogeneous—biological properties may not actually be well mixed. These results have implications for our understanding of phytoplankton biomass distribution. Channing PrendI’m a physical oceanography PhD student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. I […]
A recent study from researchers at the University of Tasmania investigates the relationship between ocean eddies and phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean using satellite data. The results can help us understand and predict how the ocean’s ability to regulate climate might change in the future. Channing PrendI’m a physical oceanography PhD student at Scripps […]
A recent study investigates the relationship between sea ice variability and phytoplankton growth in climate models. Phytoplankton are responsible for most of the transfer of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to the ocean, therefore this work can help us understand and predict how the ocean’s ability to regulate climate might change in the future. Channing […]
Check out this guest post by Marlo Garnsworthy to read about an exciting voyage to the Southern Ocean…Marlo took part in a several week research cruise to learn about climate change using sediment samples from the region…read on to learn about the experience and see Marlo’s great pictures! Anna RobuckI am a third year PhD […]
A team of scientists look to the Southern Ocean to show where and why the ocean has been storing extra heat. Veronica TamsittI’m a PhD student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla California. My research is focused on the Southern Ocean circulation and it’s role in climate. For my research I sometimes spend […]
A team of scientists used underwater ocean gliders to measure ocean turbulence and mixing along the Antarctic continental slope and their results are changing our understanding of the 3-dimensional circulation of the Southern Ocean. Veronica TamsittI’m a PhD student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla California. My research is focused on the Southern […]
Scientists from the Applied Physics Laboratory in Seattle tested a wave-powered ocean robot in the treacherous, turbulent waters of the Drake Passage for the first time in the name of science. Veronica TamsittI’m a PhD student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla California. My research is focused on the Southern Ocean circulation and […]
A group of scientists mapped the pathways of deep water to the sea surface in three-dimensions for the first time, finding that most upwelling happens at key spots of swirling eddies near undersea ridges and mountains. Veronica TamsittI’m a PhD student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla California. My research is focused on […]
The bioaccumulation of bioactive metals in top predators plays a key role in the recycling of nutrients in HNLC zones of the Southern Ocean. Furthermore, the concentration of bioactive metals can be used as a ‘fingerprint’ to identify the appropriate trophic level of a species. Anne M. HartwellHello, welcome to Oceanbites! My name is Annie, […]
How do scientists track fast swimming squid in the remote and vast open waters of the Southern Ocean? Probably not in any way you’d expect. They use squid predators, specifically a seabird—the wandering albatross—to find the squid for them. These albatrosses are outfitted with some very cool technology to bring the researchers information on their […]
A team of researchers investigate why the ocean has been absorbing more carbon from the atmosphere in recent decades, and find ocean circulation could be responsible. Veronica TamsittI’m a PhD student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla California. My research is focused on the Southern Ocean circulation and it’s role in climate. For […]