Featured
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Article
| Open AccessObservational evidence for on-shelf heat transport driven by dense water export in the Weddell Sea
Recent modeling challenges our view on where the on-shelf heat flux in Antarctica occurs, suggesting it to be large where dense waters descend the continental slope. The authors provide observational evidence from the Weddell Sea supporting this claim.
- Elin Darelius
- , Kjersti Daae
- & Svein Østerhus
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Article
| Open AccessLikely accelerated weakening of Atlantic overturning circulation emerges in optimal salinity fingerprint
An optimal salinity fingerprint is proposed to detect the long-term Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) response to anthropogenic forcing. A real-word application suggests a likely accelerated weakening of the AMOC in recent decades.
- Chenyu Zhu
- , Zhengyu Liu
- & Lixin Wu
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Article
| Open AccessEvolutionary ecology of microbial populations inhabiting deep sea sediments associated with cold seeps
Little is known about genetic heterogeneity within deep sea cold seep microbial populations. From examining 39 abundant microbial species identified in sediment layers below the sea floor and across six cold seep sites, this study reports that their evolutionary trajectories are depth-dependent and differ across phylogenetic clades.
- Xiyang Dong
- , Yongyi Peng
- & Casey R. J. Hubert
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Article
| Open AccessEnzyme adaptation to habitat thermal legacy shapes the thermal plasticity of marine microbiomes
Temperature shapes the adaptation and composition of microbiomes, but whether their enzymes drive the thermal response remains unknown. Using an analysis of seven enzyme classes from worldwide marine microbiome data, this study shows that enzyme thermal properties explain microbial thermal plasticity and they are both finely tuned by the thermal variability of the environment.
- Ramona Marasco
- , Marco Fusi
- & Daniele Daffonchio
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Article
| Open AccessTemperature, species identity and morphological traits predict carbonate excretion and mineralogy in tropical reef fishes
Marine fishes can substantially contribute to the inorganic carbon cycle through the excretion of intestinally precipitated carbonates, but the underlying drivers remain largely unknown. This study identifies the environmental factors and fish traits that predict carbonate excretion rate and mineralogical composition in tropical reef fishes.
- Mattia Ghilardi
- , Michael A. Salter
- & Sonia Bejarano
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Article
| Open AccessPelagic calcium carbonate production and shallow dissolution in the North Pacific Ocean
Ziveri et al find calcifying phytoplankton dominate pelagic CaCO3 production, but a large portion of this CaCO3 dissolves in the photic zone - they suggest the processes driving shallow CaCO3 dissolution are key to understanding the role of planktonic calcifiers in regulating atmospheric CO2.
- Patrizia Ziveri
- , William Robert Gray
- & William Berelson
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Article
| Open AccessNorth Atlantic oscillation controls multidecadal changes in the North Tropical Atlantic−Pacific connection
The drivers of multidecadal changes in the North Tropical Atlantic−Pacific connection are still not fully understood. Here, the authors show that they are mainly controlled by multidecadal variability associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation.
- Ruiqiang Ding
- , Hyacinth C. Nnamchi
- & Xumin Li
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal ocean redox changes before and during the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event
Geochemical modeling shows that just a several percent expansion of O2-free areas with toxic sulfide build-up likely contributed to biodiversity loss or reorganization during the Toarcian mass extinction 183 million years ago.
- Alexandra Kunert
- & Brian Kendall
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Review Article
| Open AccessMonitoring and modelling marine zooplankton in a changing climate
Zooplankton are a critical link to higher trophic levels and play an important role in global biogeochemical cycles. This Review examines key responses of zooplankton to ocean warming, highlights key knowledge and geographic gaps that need to be addressed, and discusses how better use of observations and long-term zooplankton monitoring programmes can help fill these gaps.
- Lavenia Ratnarajah
- , Rana Abu-Alhaija
- & Lidia Yebra
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Article
| Open AccessSalp blooms drive strong increases in passive carbon export in the Southern Ocean
Gelatinous bloom-forming zooplankton—salps—alter microbial communities and quintuple the flux of sinking particles from the surface to the deep, strongly enhancing the ability of the ocean to sequester CO2.
- Moira Décima
- , Michael R. Stukel
- & Matt Pinkerton
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Article
| Open AccessViral infection switches the balance between bacterial and eukaryotic recyclers of organic matter during coccolithophore blooms
Algal blooms are hotspots of marine primary production that play central roles in microbial ecology and global elemental cycling. Here, the authors show how bloom termination by viral infection can shift the balance between eukaryotic and prokaryotic recyclers of phytoplankton biomass.
- Flora Vincent
- , Matti Gralka
- & Assaf Vardi
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Article
| Open AccessExocytosis of the silicified cell wall of diatoms involves extensive membrane disintegration
Exocytosis is a fundamental cellular process. Here, the authors report an unusual exocytosis mechanism in the silicified cell wall of diatoms, in which membrane patches are discarded.
- Diede de Haan
- , Lior Aram
- & Assaf Gal
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Article
| Open AccessHalf a century of rising extinction risk of coral reef sharks and rays
Sharks and rays are vital coral reef species. This study shows that nearly two thirds (59%) of the 134 coral-reef associated species are threatened with extinction. The main cause of their decline is found to be overfishing, both targeted and unintentional, and extinction risk is greater for larger species found in nations with higher fishing pressure and weaker governance.
- C. Samantha Sherman
- , Colin A. Simpfendorfer
- & Nicholas K. Dulvy
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Article
| Open AccessInter-decadal climate variability induces differential ice response along Pacific-facing West Antarctica
Systematic satellite, ocean and atmosphere records show the pace and extent of melting in West Antarctica vary by location, with glaciers flowing to the Amundsen Sea most sensitive to atmosphere‒ocean variability atop a marine ice-sheet instability.
- Frazer D. W. Christie
- , Eric J. Steig
- & Robert G. Bingham
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Article
| Open AccessRole of air-sea heat flux on the transformation of Atlantic Water encircling the Nordic Seas
This study reveals that air-sea heat exchange plays differing roles in the transformation of Atlantic Water along the two northward-flowing warm currents in the Nordic Seas, which needs to be considered to understand high-latitude response to climate change.
- Jie Huang
- , Robert S. Pickart
- & Rui Xin Huang
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Article
| Open AccessHidden heatwaves and severe coral bleaching linked to mesoscale eddies and thermocline dynamics
Hidden marine heatwaves, associated with ocean eddies that modulate undersea internal waves, threaten coastal ecosystems by driving unexpected sub-surface heating and severe coral bleaching and mortality across depths.
- Alex S. J. Wyatt
- , James J. Leichter
- & Scott C. Burgess
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Article
| Open AccessIntermediate water circulation drives distribution of Pliocene Oxygen Minimum Zones
The Pliocene shows that a warmer world can support both expanded and contracted marine Oxygen Minimum Zones. While oxygen distributions were overall like today, there was less low-oxygen water in the North Pacific and more in the North Atlantic
- Catherine V. Davis
- , Elizabeth C. Sibert
- & Pincelli M. Hull
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Article
| Open AccessSouthern hemisphere eastern boundary upwelling systems emerging as future marine heatwave hotspots under greenhouse warming
The biologically productive eastern boundary upwelling systems (EBUSs) are regarded as thermal refugia in a warming climate. However, the authors here show that Southern Hemisphere EBUSs are likely to become hotspots of future marine heatwaves.
- Shengpeng Wang
- , Zhao Jing
- & Jian Shi
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Article
| Open AccessMethane emissions offset atmospheric carbon dioxide uptake in coastal macroalgae, mixed vegetation and sediment ecosystems
Coastal ecosystems are promoted as nature-based solutions to climate change. Here, the authors show that natural methane emissions across a variety of vegetated and unvegetated coastal habitats can, however, offset one-third of the carbon sink capacity attributed to atmospheric carbon dioxide uptake.
- Florian Roth
- , Elias Broman
- & Alf Norkko
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Article
| Open AccessEffects of phytoplankton, viral communities, and warming on free-living and particle-associated marine prokaryotic community structure
Over several years, this study examines how biotic interactions and warming affect the entire marine prokaryotic community at a location off the coast of Southern California. Analyses show that free-living and particle-associated prokaryotes were strongly predicted by phytoplankton and viral communities, and El Niño warming shifted cyanobacteria from cold-water ecotypes to warm-water ecotypes.
- Yi-Chun Yeh
- & Jed A. Fuhrman
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Article
| Open AccessA large-scale view of marine heatwaves revealed by archetype analysis
Here, the authors use an advanced data-mining method to show how “extreme modes” of large-scale climate variability, such as El Niño, can lead to devastating marine heatwaves.
- Christopher C. Chapman
- , Didier P. Monselesan
- & Bernadette M. Sloyan
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Article
| Open AccessOcean variability beneath Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf driven by the Pine Island Bay Gyre strength
A weaker ocean gyre in the Pine Island Bay, suppressed by higher sea-ice concentration over the ocean near the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf, allows more meltwater to enter the sub-ice-shelf cavity. This increases the ocean temperature beneath the ice.
- Tiago S. Dotto
- , Karen J. Heywood
- & Erin Pettit
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Article
| Open AccessRise and fall of sea ice production in the Arctic Ocean’s ice factories
Winter sea ice production appears to have been increasing, despite Arctic warming being most intense during winter. Here the authors examine the competing factors controlling sea ice production in the Kara and Laptev seas, and develop a simple model that explains the rise and subsequent fall of ice production under climate change.
- S. B. Cornish
- , H. L. Johnson
- & A. E. Richards
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Article
| Open AccessUnexpected limitation of tropical cyclone genesis by subsurface tropical central-north Pacific during El Niño
Wind stress curl anomalies break the ocean dynamical bond between sea surface and subsurface, constraining tropical cyclone genesis in the tropical central-north Pacific, leading to comparable number of TC for El Niño and La Niña in the western North Pacific.
- Cong Gao
- , Lei Zhou
- & Raghu Murtugudde
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessReply to: Re-examining extreme carbon isotope fractionation in the coccolithophore Ochrosphaera neapolitana
- Yi-Wei Liu
- , Robert A. Eagle
- & Justin B. Ries
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessRe-examining extreme carbon isotope fractionation in the coccolithophore Ochrosphaera neapolitana
- Hongrui Zhang
- , Ismael Torres-Romero
- & Heather M. Stoll
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Article
| Open AccessMulti-task machine learning improves multi-seasonal prediction of the Indian Ocean Dipole
A multi-task learning model is proposed to improve seasonal-to-annual prediction of the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). This model captures the inter-basin interactions between ENSO and IOD and distinctive precursors of positive and negative IOD events.
- Fenghua Ling
- , Jing-Jia Luo
- & Toshio Yamagata
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Article
| Open AccessVertical redistribution of principle water masses on the Northeast Greenland Shelf
A comprehensive database of summer data reveals long-term changes in the vertical distribution of water masses on the Northeast Greenland Shelf, which will be important for driving ecosystem change through altered stratification and nutrient supply.
- Caroline V. B. Gjelstrup
- , Mikael K. Sejr
- & Colin A. Stedmon
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Article
| Open AccessA dimensionless framework for predicting submarine fan morphology
Submarine fans play an important role in routing sediment in continental and deep water settings. Here the authors develop a framework is to explain the shape of submarine fans using a numerical model framework which can either predict seafloor topography from turbidity current flow properties or infer these flow properties from seafloor topography.
- Abdul Wahab
- , David C. Hoyal
- & Kyle M. Straub
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Article
| Open AccessAn increase in marine heatwaves without significant changes in surface ocean temperature variability
Increases in high-impact marine heatwaves over the past few decades are found to be due to recent acceleration in long-term ocean surface warming, stressing the need of careful attribution of climate change impact on extreme events.
- Tongtong Xu
- , Matthew Newman
- & Michael A. Alexander
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Article
| Open AccessA diverse Ediacara assemblage survived under low-oxygen conditions
Geochemical data from sedimentary rocks in Siberia indicate that members of the soft-bodied Ediacara biota (the earliest macroscopic life on Earth) were tolerant of low-oxygen conditions, suggesting they had the capacity for anaerobic metabolisms.
- Lucas B. Cherry
- , Geoffrey J. Gilleaudeau
- & Alan J. Kaufman
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Article
| Open AccessAerobic oxidation of methane significantly reduces global diffusive methane emissions from shallow marine waters
Aerobic oxidation is a biological sink of methane that can reduce oceanic emissions to the atmosphere. This study estimates that half of methane from total loss, amounting to 1.8 ± 2.7 Tg, is oxidized annually in global 0–50 m near-shore waters
- Shi-Hai Mao
- , Hong-Hai Zhang
- & Gui-Peng Yang
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Article
| Open AccessTransfer efficiency of organic carbon in marine sediments
The burial of organic carbon in marine sediments regulates Earth’s carbon cycle and climate. Here, authors present ‘transfer efficiencies’ as a new framework for quantifying the sedimentary portion of the marine organic carbon cycle.
- James A. Bradley
- , Dominik Hülse
- & Sandra Arndt
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Article
| Open AccessGrowth of ocean thermal energy conversion resources under greenhouse warming regulated by oceanic eddies
Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) resources provide a renewable solution to fuel our future. Here the authors show a significant increase of OTEC resources under greenhouse warming with the increasing rate regulated by oceanic eddies.
- Tianshi Du
- , Zhao Jing
- & Haiyuan Yang
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Article
| Open AccessHost biology, ecology and the environment influence microbial biomass and diversity in 101 marine fish species
In this study, the microbiota of multiple body sites from 101 marine fish species from Southern California were sampled and analysed. The authors compared diversity measures while also establishing a method to estimate microbial biomass. Body site is shown to be the strongest driver of microbial diversity and patterns of phylosymbiosis are observed across the gill, skin and hindgut.
- Jeremiah J. Minich
- , Andreas Härer
- & Eric E. Allen
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Article
| Open AccessEmergence of changing Central-Pacific and Eastern-Pacific El Niño-Southern Oscillation in a warming climate
Under global warming, increased variability in El Niño sea surface temperature was projected to be detectable by about 2070. Here the authors show that the increased variability of a type of more impactful El Niño events is likely detectable by 2030.
- Tao Geng
- , Wenju Cai
- & Michael J. McPhaden
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Article
| Open AccessSouthern Indian Ocean Dipole as a trigger for Central Pacific El Niño since the 2000s
Predicting the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) since the 2000s has become increasingly challenging. Here the authors show that the Southern Indian Ocean Dipole has become a key precursor of Central Pacific El Niño since the 2000s with a 14-month lead.
- Hyun-Su Jo
- , Yoo-Geun Ham
- & Hyerim Kim
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Article
| Open AccessCell-specific measurements show nitrogen fixation by particle-attached putative non-cyanobacterial diazotrophs in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
Nitrogen-fixing (diazotrophic) cyanobacteria provide a critical nutrient input to the ocean. Non-cyanobacterial diazotrophs are also thought to contribute, but they have not been observed to fix nitrogen. Using dual isotope labeling combined with nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry, this study demonstrates that putative non-cyanobacterial diazotrophs attached to particles can fix nitrogen.
- Katie J. Harding
- , Kendra A. Turk-Kubo
- & Jonathan P. Zehr
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Article
| Open AccessSouthern Ocean biogenic blooms freezing-in Oligocene colder climates
A phase of unique turbulent oceanographic and tectonic circumstances during the Early Oligocene caused high productivity in the Australian Antarctic Basin and enabled the stabilization of colder global climates.
- Katharina Hochmuth
- , Joanne M. Whittaker
- & Joseph H. LaCasce
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Article
| Open AccessPhosphate limitation intensifies negative effects of ocean acidification on globally important nitrogen fixing cyanobacterium
How reduced seawater pH and increased carbon dioxide might affect the prominent nitrogen fixer Trichodesmium in phosphorus-limited oceans is poorly understood. This study used phosphate-limited chemostat experiments to show that Trichodesmium may fix less nitrogen for a given amount of phosphorus at low pH. Thus, marine productivity is likely to decline in a future, more acidic ocean.
- Futing Zhang
- , Zuozhu Wen
- & Dalin Shi
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Article
| Open AccessRemote energy sources for mixing in the Indonesian Seas
In addition to locally generated tidal mixing, remotely generated planetary (Kelvin and Rossby) waves and eddies are found to supply energy into the Indonesian Seas, sufficient to drive mixing in the upper ocean at rates inferred from observations.
- Chengyuan Pang
- , Maxim Nikurashin
- & Bernadette M. Sloyan
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Article
| Open AccessField measurements reveal exposure risk to microplastic ingestion by filter-feeding megafauna
Combining microplastic data from the California Current Ecosystem with high-resolution foraging measurements from 191 tag deployments on blue, fin and humpback whales, this study quantifies plastic ingestion rates and routes of exposure risk in filter-feeding megafauna.
- S. R. Kahane-Rapport
- , M. F. Czapanskiy
- & M. S. Savoca
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Article
| Open AccessVolcanically hosted venting with indications of ultramafic influence at Aurora hydrothermal field on Gakkel Ridge
The Aurora hydrothermal field (Arctic Ocean) is hosted in volcanic rocks but also shows evidence of mantle rock influence in the shallow sub-surface. Our discovery is pertinent to disciplines from marine mining to the search for life beyond Earth.
- Christopher R. German
- , Eoghan P. Reeves
- & Antje Boetius
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Article
| Open AccessSea level extremes and compounding marine heatwaves in coastal Indonesia
Increased extreme high sea level events and concurrence of marine heatwaves are observed along the Indian Ocean coast of Indonesia in the past decade due to the combined impact of anthropogenic warming and natural decadal climate variability.
- Weiqing Han
- , Lei Zhang
- & Wen Xing
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Article
| Open AccessContrasting life-history responses to climate variability in eastern and western North Pacific sardine populations
Using high-resolution stable isotope and microstructure analyses of otoliths, this study reveals that sardine populations in the western and eastern North Pacific have different early life metabolic and growth rates that respond contrastingly to temperature variations. These findings could explain observations of different responses in these populations to decadal-scale temperature anomalies.
- Tatsuya Sakamoto
- , Motomitsu Takahashi
- & Tomihiko Higuchi
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Article
| Open AccessThe unquantified mass loss of Northern Hemisphere marine-terminating glaciers from 2000–2020
As glaciers terminate into the ocean, mass is lost through frontal ablation where the ice meets the ocean. Here the authors estimate decadal frontal ablation from 2000 to 2020 of 1496 glaciers in the Northern Hemisphere, and find that frontal ablation makes up 79% of ice discharge to the ocean.
- William Kochtitzky
- , Luke Copland
- & Francisco Navarro
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Article
| Open AccessSpatial coalescent connectivity through multi-generation dispersal modelling predicts gene flow across marine phyla
This study uses a compilation of 58 population genetic studies of 47 phylogenetically divergent marine sedentary species over the Mediterranean basin to assess how genetic differentiation is predicted by different dispersal models. Multi-generation dispersal models reveal implicit links among siblings from a common ancestor (coalescent connectivity) that could improve spatial conservation planning.
- Térence Legrand
- , Anne Chenuil
- & Vincent Rossi
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal forestation and deforestation affect remote climate via adjusted atmosphere and ocean circulation
Based on coupled climate model simulations the authors show that changes to the Earth’s surface energy balance following global-scale forestation and deforestation may change the strength of the jet stream, the Hadley cell, and the ocean circulation, which alters remote climate patterns across the globe
- Raphael Portmann
- , Urs Beyerle
- & Sebastian Schemm
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Article
| Open AccessAncient marine sediment DNA reveals diatom transition in Antarctica
Sedimentary ancient DNA can indicate ecosystem-wide changes. Here, the authors show association between warm phases and high diatom abundance in the Antarctic Scotia Sea, in addition to presenting ancient eukaryote sedimentary DNA spanning the last approximately 1 million years.
- Linda Armbrecht
- , Michael E. Weber
- & Xufeng Zheng