Featured
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Article
| Open AccessIncreased occurrences of consecutive La Niña events under global warming
Analysis of climate models under future greenhouse-gas forcings shows that the frequency of consecutive La Niña events will increase, driven by ocean–atmosphere feedbacks that slow the heat recharge of the equatorial Pacific.
- Tao Geng
- , Fan Jia
- & Michael J. McPhaden
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World View |
I’ve witnessed the wonders of the deep sea. Mining could destroy them
Deep-sea mining could wreck more than just the ocean floor in ways we have no idea how to repair.
- Beth N. Orcutt
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News & Views |
Sixty years since the report of global lead pollution
The 1963 discovery that even the vast oceans were highly contaminated with lead from car exhausts sparked debate and policy changes that benefited the health of millions — and revolutionized the practices of marine biogeochemistry.
- Jerome Nriagu
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News |
Oil from the Amazon? Proposal to drill at river’s mouth worries researchers
Energy firm Petrobras says any leaked oil would not reach the Brazilian coast, but scientists are concerned about a vast reef nearby.
- Meghie Rodrigues
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News Explainer |
Deep-sea mining could soon be approved — how bad is it?
The creatures at the bottom of the ocean are little-studied, but emerging data hint at long-term damage from efforts to harvest metals on the sea floor.
- Natasha Gilbert
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News |
Striking images show plastic litter in the world’s most remote coral reefs
Fishing nets, packaging and other debris threaten wildlife in some of the ocean’s deepest reef ecosystems.
- Katharine Sanderson
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News |
Oceans are turning greener due to climate change
Researchers are investigating exactly why this is happening and what it might signify.
- Alexandra Witze
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal climate-change trends detected in indicators of ocean ecology
An analysis of satellite data from July 2002–June 2022 shows that ocean colour, or remote-sensing reflectance, changed significantly during this period, and that this trend is likely to be driven by climate change.
- B. B. Cael
- , Kelsey Bisson
- & Stephanie Henson
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Where I Work |
Shining a light on mysterious underwater cave creatures
Cave ecologist Fernando Calderón Gutiérrez is studying the resilience of cave-adapted species in the face of climate change and other stressors.
- Amanda Heidt
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News |
El Niño is here — how bad will it be?
The strong climate pattern could push global temperatures to record highs.
- Alexandra Witze
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Research Briefing |
World’s largest ocean ‘dead zone’ was well oxygenated during past warm period
The eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, which today is a major oxygen-deficient zone, or ‘dead zone’, was well oxygenated during the Miocene warm period about 16 million years ago. This finding supports model simulations suggesting that modern oxygen loss from the ocean might eventually reverse.
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News Feature |
Start-ups are adding antacids to the ocean to slow global warming. Will it work?
A New York experiment is part of a commercial race to develop ocean-based technologies to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
- Jeff Tollefson
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News Explainer |
Is Fukushima wastewater release safe? What the science says
Radiation in the water will be diluted to almost-background levels, but some researchers are not sure this will be sufficient to mitigate the risks.
- Bianca Nogrady
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News Q&A |
Lost Titanic sub: an ocean scientist talks about dive safety
Oceanographer Peter Girguis offers an insider view of deep-sea exploration.
- Katharine Sanderson
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Article |
Krill body size drives particulate organic carbon export in West Antarctica
A multi-decadal sediment-trap time series reveals that the body size, not the abundance, of Antarctic krill drives the particulate organic carbon flux on the continental shelf of the West Antarctic Peninsula.
- Rebecca Trinh
- , Hugh W. Ducklow
- & William R. Fraser
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Article |
Uncovering the Ediacaran phosphorus cycle
Reconstruction of oceanic phosphorus concentrations during a large negative carbon-isotope excursion co-occurring with global oceanic oxygenation and evolution of some of Earth’s earliest animals suggests that decoupled phosphorus and ocean anoxia cycles during the Ediacaran may have prolonged the rise of atmospheric oxygen.
- Matthew S. Dodd
- , Wei Shi
- & Timothy W. Lyons
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Where I Work |
Ranching sea cucumbers to repair the oceans — and improve human health
Libin Zhang aims to restore sea-cucumber populations to rebalance ocean ecosystems and so that people can use their beneficial compounds.
- James Mitchell Crow
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News |
Found in the trash: these floating snails hang out in the ocean’s garbage patch
Ocean currents that collect plastic also round up sea life — this striking image shows its bubbly life raft.
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Where I Work |
I was deathly afraid of the sea — now I work to protect it
Conservationist Loyiso Dunga aims to guard kelp, a crucial resource in South African waters that is home to invertebrates, fish and mammals.
- Virginia Gewin
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Matters Arising |
Quantifying the carbon benefits of ending bottom trawling
- Jan Geert Hiddink
- , Sebastiaan J. van de Velde
- & Marija Sciberras
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News & Views |
Salty seas sway global glacial cycles
Analysis of microfossils in marine sediments spanning the past 1.2 million years suggests that increased intrusion of highly saline waters from the Indian Ocean into the South Atlantic propelled Earth’s deglaciations during this period.
- Kaustubh Thirumalai
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News Explainer |
The ocean is hotter than ever: what happens next?
Record temperature combined with an anticipated El Niño could devastate marine life and increase the chances of extreme weather.
- Nicola Jones
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Matters Arising |
Reply to: Quantifying the carbon benefits of ending bottom trawling
- Trisha B. Atwood
- , Enric Sala
- & Jane Lubchenco
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Where I Work |
I explore my people’s sacred space to protect biodiversity
Zoleka Filander leads research in South African waters to shield vulnerable marine life and honour her Indigenous community.
- James Mitchell Crow
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Book Review |
Diving deep: the centuries-long quest to explore the deepest ocean
Schemes to dive to the bottom of the sea have a surprisingly long history — but a book shows how science has rarely been the motivation.
- Alexandra Witze
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Article
| Open AccessMirusviruses link herpesviruses to giant viruses
A phylogeny-guided genome-resolved metagenomic analysis of DNA viruses in the ocean reveals atypical plankton-infecting relatives of herpesviruses that form a putative new phylum dubbed Mirusviricota.
- Morgan Gaïa
- , Lingjie Meng
- & Tom O. Delmont
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News |
Why Earth’s giant kelp forests are worth $500 billion a year
Analysis estimates that kelp forests are at least three times more valuable for food and the planet than previously thought.
- Gemma Conroy
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News Feature |
The Arctic after dark: a secret world of hidden life
An international team braved the far north in January to unlock secrets of how marine organisms tell day from night during the polar winter.
- Randall Hyman
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Where I Work |
I analyse ‘extremophile’ microbes to understand life’s origins
Microbiologist Gaël Erauso studies microorganisms from the deep ocean to learn how they evolved from prebiotic organic molecules billions of years ago.
- Hannah Docter-Loeb
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Comment |
Marine heatwaves need clear definitions so coastal communities can adapt
Clearly communicating baselines for assessing ocean warming is essential for understanding extreme events and how they will affect marine ecosystems and livelihoods in the future.
- Dillon J. Amaya
- , Michael G. Jacox
- & Brian S. Powell
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News & Views |
Southern Ocean heat sink hindered by melting ice
Simulations show that the melting of Antarctic ice reduces the production of deep water that stores heat at the bottom of the Southern Ocean. Comprehensive models could reveal whether the trend will persist.
- Joellen L. Russell
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Article |
Abyssal ocean overturning slowdown and warming driven by Antarctic meltwater
Simulations show that projected increases in Antarctic meltwater will slow down the abyssal ocean overturning circulation over the coming decades and lead to warming and ageing of the ocean abyss.
- Qian Li
- , Matthew H. England
- & Adele K. Morrison
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Correspondence |
Japan and Europe’s next ocean-drilling research programme
- Gilbert Camoin
- & Nobu Eguchi
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Research Briefing |
Shallow-reef species around Australia are declining with warming seas
Since 2008, population densities of shallow-reef fishes, invertebrates and seaweeds around Australia have generally decreased near the northern limits of species’ ranges, and increased near their southern limits. Endemic invertebrates and seaweeds that prefer cold waters showed the steepest declines, and are prevented by deep-ocean barriers from moving south as temperatures rise.
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Editorial |
UN high seas treaty is a landmark – but science needs to fill the gaps
The agreement is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for researchers and funders to use every idea and instrument available to preserve the health of the seas.
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Research Briefing |
An abrupt decline of thick sea ice in the Arctic Ocean
Long-term sea-ice measurements from the Fram Strait reveal that the dominant form of Arctic sea ice shifted around 2007, from thick and deformed ice to thinner, more uniform ice. As a result of this shift, the proportion of thick, deformed ice fell by about half. It has not yet recovered, and this is expected to affect heat and momentum exchange in the region.
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Article
| Open AccessRegime shift in Arctic Ocean sea ice thickness
A simple model describes the stochastic process of dynamic sea ice thickening, shows how reduced residence time affects changes in ice thickness and highlights the enduring impact of climate change on the Arctic Ocean.
- Hiroshi Sumata
- , Laura de Steur
- & Sebastian Gerland
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Research Highlight |
South Pacific plankton go berserk after minor cyclone
The biggest phytoplankton bloom ever recorded in the South Pacific Ocean was triggered by a small but lingering storm.
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News |
Ocean-drilling ship that revolutionized Earth science due to retire
Researchers will not be able to work aboard the JOIDES Resolution after next year.
- Alexandra Witze
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Article
| Open AccessCoastal phytoplankton blooms expand and intensify in the 21st century
Satellite observations reveal global increases in the extent and frequency of phytoplankton blooms between 2003 and 2020 and provide insights into the relationship between blooms, ocean circulation and sea surface temperature.
- Yanhui Dai
- , Shangbo Yang
- & Lian Feng
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Where I Work |
I helped to broker a historic deal to protect the seas
Julie Robinson, a marine biologist-turned-policymaker in Belize, is helping to save her country through seaweed farming.
- Chris Woolston
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Article |
The evolution of the marine carbonate factory
Geochemical insights from a dataset of carbonate stable strontium isotopes suggest that porewater production of authigenic carbonates may have been an overlooked carbonate sink for much of Earth’s history.
- Jiuyuan Wang
- , Lidya G. Tarhan
- & Noah J. Planavsky
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Book Review |
Hauling icebergs to Africa: could a bizarre plan to get drinking water actually work?
Transporting water trapped in icebergs to drought-plagued regions is pooh-poohed by scientists — but some see it as a huge opportunity.
- Josie Glausiusz
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News & Views |
High variability reveals complexity under Thwaites Glacier
Fixed moorings and underwater vehicles have uncovered varied patterns of melting and morphology under a West Antarctic glacier, offering insight into the potential for its collapse and highlighting key challenges for modelling.
- Craig McConnochie
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Article
| Open AccessSuppressed basal melting in the eastern Thwaites Glacier grounding zone
Despite observations from a hot-water-drilled access hole showing warm ocean waters beneath Thwaites Glacier Eastern Ice Shelf, the basal melt rate is strongly suppressed due to the low current speeds and strong density stratification.
- Peter E. D. Davis
- , Keith W. Nicholls
- & Keith Makinson
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Article
| Open AccessHeterogeneous melting near the Thwaites Glacier grounding line
Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf observations from a new underwater vehicle show that high melt rates occur where ice is sharply sloped at the ocean interface, with lower melt where the ice is comparatively flat.
- B. E. Schmidt
- , P. Washam
- & K. Makinson
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Where I Work |
Searching the ocean for secrets to help fight climate change
By sampling prehistoric sediments in the ocean floor, geologist Hartmut Schulz hopes to identify ancient analogues of today’s warming world.
- James Mitchell Crow
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Matters Arising |
Reply to: Concerns about data linking delta land gain to human action
- J. H. Nienhuis
- , A. D. Ashton
- & T. E. Törnqvist