Antarctic ice drives crucial deep-ocean currents that help regulate Earth’s climate. But the system is slowing down.
currents
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Rotation of Europa’s Icy Shell Driven by Deep Ocean Currents
A model using currents in the deep ocean to drive rotation of Europa’s ice shell from below can explain why its surface may drift despite being tidally locked.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Do Ocean Currents Mix Water Vertically or Stir Laterally?
Observations of temperature and salinity distributions across the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence reveal the importance of small-scale mixing processes for water mass modification.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Gulf Stream Closes the Valve of the Labrador Current
Virtual particles released in the Labrador Current revealed that the westward penetration of the current into the shelf seas is inhibited by warm core rings emanating from the Gulf Stream.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Weakened Kuroshio Slows Down the Ryukyu Current
A combination of the weakened Kuroshio in the Tokara Strait and an increase in anticyclonic eddies led to the slowdown of the Ryukyu Current from 1993 to 2018.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Exploring a Warm Water Inflow Below an Antarctic Ice Shelf
Researchers guided an autonomous underwater submarine to capture the first direct observations of a warm water current flowing in below the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Disentangling River Water Turbidity and its Flow
A new study shows why fine sediments in rivers are not simply proportional to the water flow across the United States.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Fluid Dynamics of Tiny, Ancient Marine Animals
Water flow simulations using 3D models of fossils yield new clues to the evolution of organisms known as medusozoans.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
When Winds and Currents Align, Ocean Mixing Goes Deep
Slantwise convection in the Irminger Sea off Greenland appears to mix ocean water to deeper depths than previously thought, representing an important contribution to Atlantic overturning.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
How do Bob and Tom Eddies Meet, Pair-Spin, and Twist?
Autonomous float data reveal that mergers of two eddies, known to have spiraling subducting water surrounding each other, happens more frequently than previously thought.