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.

A half century perspective: Seasonal productivity and particulates in the Ross Sea

April2,2019

Studies of cruise observations in the Ross Sea are typically biased to a single or a few year(s), and long-term trends have predominantly come from satellites. Consequently, the in situ climatological patterns of nutrients and particulate matter have remained vague and unclear. What are the typical patterns of nutrients and particulate matter concentrations in the […]

Read More

Pteropod populations stable or increasing according to long-term study along the Western Antarctic Peninsula

March21,2019

Shelled pteropods (pelagic snails) are abundant planktonic predators and prey, linking grazers and higher trophic levels and contributing to the carbon cycle via consumption and excretion. Pteropods have been heralded as bioindicators of ocean acidification, given their aragonitic shell’s susceptibility to dissolution, which could ultimately lead to declining abundance. However, pteropod population dynamics are understudied, […]

Read More

Zooplankton vertical migrations represent a significant source of carbon export in the ocean

March15,2019

Huge numbers of tiny marine animals, known as zooplankton, migrate between the surface ocean and the twilight zone (200 – 1,000 m below the surface) everyday; it is the largest migration event anywhere on the planet. How much carbon do these animals transport with them and how much do they leave behind sequestered in the […]

Read More

How fast are elements sinking in the ocean?

March5,2019

The sinking of elements in the ocean influences many important processes such as deep ocean carbon storage and the availability of trace metals for phytoplankton. Previously, quantification of this sinking flux has been done using sediment trap deployments or tracer measurements of a particle-reactive radioisotope. Since sediment traps and each particular radioisotope each have caveats […]

Read More

You better repeat it: Serial ocean acidification experiments on fish early life stages

March5,2019

To detect potential effects of acidification on marine organisms, experimenters most commonly use within-experiment replication, but repeating the experiments themselves is rarely done. While the first approach suffices to detect major CO2 effects, other potentially important responses may get detected and robustly quantified only via serial experimentation. A study by Baumann et al. in Biology Letters comprises a meta-analysis of […]

Read More

Gulf of Mexico: A blue carbon hotspot of mangroves, seagrass and marshes

February20,2019

The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) is an important global hotspot that comprises over 2.1615 million hectares of blue carbon habitats, including mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes, which collectively store 480.5 Tg of organic carbon (Corg) just in the upper 1 meter of sediment. Some of these important areas of carbon sequestration are protected or conserved, […]

Read More

Rapid warming and salinity changes mask acidification in Gulf of Maine waters

February20,2019

Why don’t we see ocean acidification in over a decade of high-frequency observations in the Gulf of Maine? The answer lies in a recent decade of changes that raised sea surface temperature and salinity, and in turn dampened the expected acidification signal and caused the saturation states of calcite minerals to increase. From 2004 to […]

Read More

Biological and physical controls on estuarine nitrous oxide emissions

February5,2019

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas with rising atmospheric concentrations. Atmospheric emissions of N2O are predicted to increase with continued anthropogenic perturbation of the nitrogen cycle, yet the magnitude of these emissions is uncertain, particularly in coastal systems where N2O fluxes are poorly constrained. How do N2O emissions from a eutrophic estuary vary […]

Read More

Evidence against an Arctic Ocean methane bomb

February5,2019

Gas hydrates are an ice-like storehouse of the greenhouse gas methane found in continental margins of the world ocean. Warming waters can cause hydrates to decompose and release ancient methane to overlying sediment and waters. The continental shelves of the Arctic Ocean have been thought of as “ground zero” for the potential release of methane […]

Read More

Dust-borne iron in the Southern Ocean was more bioavailable during glacial periods

January23,2019

The Southern Ocean is iron (Fe)-limited, and increased fluxes of dust-borne Fe to the Southern Ocean during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) have been associated with phytoplankton growth and CO2 drawdown. Dust contains different mixes of Fe-bearing minerals, depending on the source region. Fe(II) silicate minerals from physical weathering are more bioavailable than Fe(III) oxyhydroxide […]

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