The ocean is a central component of Earth’s climate system. But it is in perpetual motion, and understanding the transfer of kinetic energy is key to better ocean models.
currents
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Step Aside, Internal Tides: Supercomputer Modeling Improves Satellite Altimetry Precision
New supercomputer models can provide valuable information about the ocean’s layers and movements, particularly slow moving features such as eddies and currents.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
How Nutrients Get Back Up to the Surface Ocean
A new dual isotope tracer technique is used to assess the role of a number of poorly understood nutrient supply mechanisms fueling biological productivity in the ocean.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Nutrients at Depth Can Be Uplifted by the Kuroshio Large Meander
Aperiodic, southward deflection of the Kuroshio, a.k.a. the Kuroshio large meander, uplifts the nutrients in deep layers to induce offshore phytoplankton bloom.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
ENSO Variations Modulate the Kuroshio in the East China Sea
Recent warm El Niño Southern Oscillation events strengthened winds over the western Subtropical North Pacific, leading to planetary waves with cyclonic eddies, weakening the Kuroshio in the East China Sea.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Ocean Deserts Could Help Capture CO2 and Mitigate Global Warming
Various nutrient sources in the upper waters of oceanic subtropical gyres, which are the Earth’s largest oligotrophic ecosystems, play a crucial role in governing the sequestration of atmospheric CO2.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Machine Learning Provides a Clearer Window into Ocean Motion
A new method could translate satellite information about sea surface heights into insights on current, heat flow, and—ultimately—climate change.
Posted inNews
Meltwater from Antarctic Glaciers Is Slowing Deep-Ocean Currents
Antarctic ice drives crucial deep-ocean currents that help regulate Earth’s climate. But the system is slowing down.
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.