OCB Science Highlights

OCB Science Highlights

If you would like to have your recent publications featured on the OCB website and eNewsletter please contact ocb_news@whoi.edu. View our guidelines for writing a OCB Science Highlight.

Marine heatwave implications for future phytoplankton blooms

October15,2020

Ocean temperature extreme events such as marine heatwaves are expected to intensify in coming decades due to anthropogenic warming. Although the effects of marine heatwaves on large plants and animals are becoming well documented, little is known about how these warming events will impact microbes that regulate key biogeochemical processes such as ocean carbon uptake […]

Read More

Chesapeake Bay acidification partially offset by submerged aquatic vegetation

September30,2020

Ocean acidification is often enhanced by eutrophication and subsequent hypoxia and anoxia in coastal waters, which collectively threaten marine organisms and ecosystems. Acidification is particularly of concern for organisms that form shells and skeletons from calcium carbonate (CaCO3) such as commercially important shellfish species. Given that CaCO3 mineral dissolution can increase the total alkalinity of […]

Read More

Will global change “stress out” ocean DOC cycling?

September29,2020

The dissolved organic carbon (DOC) pool is vital for the functioning of marine ecosystems. DOC fuels marine food webs and is a cornerstone of the earth’s carbon cycle. As one of the largest pools of organic matter on the planet, disruptions to marine DOC cycling driven by climate and environmental global changes can impact air-sea […]

Read More

Sea ice loss and the changing Arctic carbon cycle

September18,2020

Loss of Arctic Ocean ice cover is altering the carbon cycle in ways that are not well understood. Effectively “popping the top off” the Arctic Ocean, ice loss exposes the sea surface to warming and exchange of CO2 with the atmosphere. These processes are expected to increase CO2 levels in the Arctic Ocean, changing its […]

Read More

Estuarine sediment resuspension drives non-local impacts on biogeochemistry

September18,2020

Sediment processes, including resuspension and transport, affect water quality in estuaries by altering light attenuation, primary productivity, and organic matter remineralization, which then influence oxygen and nitrogen dynamics. In a recent paper published in Estuaries and Coasts, the authors quantified the degree to which sediment resuspension and transport affected estuarine biogeochemistry by implementing a coupled […]

Read More

The role of nutrient trapping in promoting shelf hypoxia in the southern Benguela upwelling system

September3,2020

The southern Benguela upwelling system (SBUS) off southwest Africa is an exceptionally fertile ocean region that supports valuable commercial fisheries. The productivity of this system derives from the upwelling of nutrient-rich Subantarctic Mode Water, and from the concurrent entrainment of nutrients regenerated proximately on the expansive continental shelf. The SBUS is prone to severe seasonal […]

Read More

Profiling floats reveal fate of Southern Ocean phytoplankton stocks

September1,2020

More observations are needed to constrain the relative roles of physical (advection), biogeochemical (downward export), and ecological (grazing and biological losses) processes in driving the fate of phytoplankton blooms in Southern Ocean waters. In a recent paper published in Nature Communications, authors used seven Biogeochemical Argo (BGC-Argo) floats that vertically profiled the upper ocean every […]

Read More

A close-up view of biomass controls in Southern Ocean eddies

August20,2020

Southern Ocean biological productivity is instrumental in regulating the global carbon cycle. Previous correlative studies associated widespread mesoscale activity with anomalous chlorophyll levels. However, eddies simultaneously modify both the physical and biogeochemical environments via several competing pathways, making it difficult to discern which mechanisms are responsible for the observed biological anomalies within them. Two recently […]

Read More

Multiyear predictions of ocean acidification in the California Current System

August20,2020

The California Current System is a highly productive coastal upwelling region that supports commercial fisheries valued at $6 billion/year. These fisheries are supported by upwelled waters, which are rich in nutrients and serve as a natural fertilizer for phytoplankton. Due to remineralization of organic matter at depth, these upwelled waters also contain large amounts of […]

Read More

Space-based estimates of estuarine dissolved organic carbon flux to the Mid-Atlantic Bight

August5,2020

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is a food supplement that supports microorganism growth and plays a major role in the global carbon cycle via the microbial loop, which integrates DOC into the marine food web. DOC from two major estuaries on the US East Coast, Chesapeake (CB) and Delaware Bay (DB), represent major contributors to the […]

Read More

Filter by Keyword

abundance acidification additionality advection africa aggregates air-sea air-sea interactions albedo algae alkalinity allometry amendments ammonium AMO AMOC anoxic Antarctic Antarctica anthro impacts anthropogenic carbon anthropogenic impacts appendicularia aquaculture aquatic continuum aragonite saturation arctic Argo argon arsenic artificial seawater assumptions AT Atlantic atmosphere atmospheric CO2 atmospheric nitrogen deposition authigenic carbonates autonomous platforms AUVs awb bacteria bathypelagic BATS BCG Argo benthic bgc argo bias bio-go-ship bio-optical bioavailability biogeochemical biogeochemical cycles biogeochemical models biogeochemistry Biological Essential Ocean Variables biological pump biomass biophysics bloom blue carbon bottom water boundary layer buffer capacity C14 CaCO3 calcification calcite carbon carbon-climate feedback carbon-sulfur coupling carbon 14 carbonate carbonate chemistry carbonate chemistry OAE carbonate system carbon budget carbon cycle carbon cycling carbon dioxide carbon export carbon fluxes carbon removal carbon sequestration carbon storage Caribbean CCA CCS CDOM changing marine chemistry changing marine ecosystems changing marine environments changing ocean chemistry chemical oceanographic data chemical speciation chemoautotroph chesapeake bay chl a chlorophyll circulation climate clouds CO2 CO3 coastal and estuarine coastal darkening coastal ocean cobalt Coccolithophores commercial community community composition competition conservation cooling effect copepod copepods coral reefs cruise CTD currents cyclone daily cycles data data access data assimilation database data management data product data sets Data standards DCM dead zone decadal trends decomposers decomposition deep convection deep ocean deep sea coral deep water deepwater horizon denitrification dense water deoxygenation depth diatoms DIC diel migration diffusion dimethylsulfide dinoflagellate dinoflagellates discrete measurements disequilibrium distribution DOC DOM domoic acid DOP dust DVM earth system ecological feedbacks ecology economics ecosystem management ecosystems eddy Education EEZ Ekman transport emissions ENSO enzyme equatorial current equatorial regions ESM estuarine and coastal carbon fluxes estuary euphotic zone eutrophication evolution export export fluxes export production extreme events faecal pellets fecal pellets feces feeding filter feeders filtration rates fire fish Fish carbon fisheries fishing fjord float floats fluid dynamics fluorescence food webs forage fish forams framework freshening freshwater frontal zone fronts functional role fungi future oceans gelatinous zooplankton gene transfer geochemistry geoengineering geologic time GEOTRACES glaciers gliders global carbon budget global oceam global ocean global ocean models global overturning circulation global warming go-ship gradient grazing greenhouse gas greenhouse gases Greenland ground truthing groundwater Gulf of Maine Gulf of Mexico Gulf Stream gyre harmful algal bloom heat waves high latitude human food human impact human well-being hurricane hydrogen hydrothermal hypoxia ice age iceberg ice cores ice cover industrial onset inland waters in situ inverse circulation ions iron iron fertilization iron limitation isotopes jellies katabatic winds kelvin waves krill kuroshio lab vs field lagoon land land-ocean continuum larvaceans lateral transport LGM lidar ligands light light attenuation lineage lipids low nutrient machine learning mangroves marine carbon cycle marine heatwave marine particles marine snow marine snowfall marshes mCDR mechanisms Mediterranean meltwater mesocosm mesopelagic mesoscale mesoscale processes metagenome metals methane methods microbes microbial processes microlayer microorganisms microplankton microplastics microscale microzooplankton midwater migration minerals mitigation mixed layer mixed layers mixing mixotrophs mixotrophy model modeling modeling atmosphere model validation mode water molecular diffusion MPT MRV multi-decade N2 n2o NAAMES NCP nearshore net community production net primary productivity new ocean state new technology Niskin bottle nitrate nitrogen nitrogen cycle nitrogen fixation nitrous oxide north atlantic north pacific North Sea NPP nuclear war nutricline nutrient budget nutrient cycles nutrient cycling nutrient limitation nutrients OA observations ocean-atmosphere ocean acidification ocean acidification data ocean alkalinity enhancement ocean carbon uptake & storage ocean carbon uptake and storage ocean color ocean interior ocean modeling ocean observatories ocean warming ODZ oil oligotrophic omics OMZ open ocean optics organic carbon organic particles oscillation outwelling overturning circulation oxidizing oxygen oxygen-deficient pacific paleoceanography PAR parameter optimization parasite particle flux particles partnerships pathway pCO2 PDO peat pelagic perturbation PETM pH phenology phosphate phosphorus photosynthesis physical processes physiology phytoplankton PIC piezophilic piezotolerant plankton POC polar polar regions policy pollutants precipitation predation predator-prey predators prediction pressure primary productivity Prochlorococcus productivity prokaryotes proteins pteropods pycnocline python radioisotopes rain redox remineralization remote sensing repeat hydrography residence time resource management respiration resuspension rivers rocky shore Rossby waves Ross Sea ROV salinity salt marsh satellite scale seafloor seagrass sea ice sea level rise seasonal seasonal effects seasonality seasonal patterns seasonal trends sea spray sea surface seawater collection seaweed secchi sediments sensor sensors sequestration shelf ocean shelf system shells ship-based obs ship-based observations shorelines siderophore silica silicate silicon cycle sink sinking sinking particles size SOCCOM soil carbon solubility pump southern ocean south pacific spatial covariations speciation spring mixing SST state estimation stoichiometry stratification subduction submesoscale subpolar subtropical sulfate surf surface surface ocean surface water surface waters Synechococcus technology teleconnections temperate temperature temporal covariations thermocline thermodynamics thermohaline thorium tidal time time-series time of emergence titration top predators total alkalinity trace elements trace metals trait-based transfer efficiency transient features trawling Tris trophic interactions trophic transfer tropical turbulence twilight zone upper ocean upper water column upwelling US CLIVAR uvp validation velocity gradient ventilation vertical flux vertical migration vertical transport viruses warming water clarity water column water mass water quality waves weathering western boundary currents wetlands winter mixing zooplankton