Researchers used a wave tank to study the movement of plastic particles experimentally and to understand the role of particle density in drift behavior.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Acidifying Oceans Could Get Help from Kelp
Forests of fast-growing kelp influence the chemistry of the water in which they live. A new study evaluates their potential to ameliorate ocean acidification in sensitive coastal ecosystems.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Autonomous Minisubmarine Measures Seawater Conditions
Forecasts of carbonate chemistry in coastal ecosystems determined from seasonal robotic measurements can improve fisheries management and help mitigate short-term ocean acidification events.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Most of the Arctic’s Microscopic Algae Are Chilling Under Ice
New research reveals that tiny single-celled organisms in the Arctic Ocean are growing more numerous as climate change thins the ice.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Improving Proxy Representations of Ocean Properties
Many oceanic properties are not directly observed but are instead estimated using proxy measurements. A new method uses physics-based correlations to reduce uncertainty in this relationship.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
A Direct Bridge Between Tropical Cyclones and Ocean Eddies
Tropical cyclones can inject potential vorticity directly into ocean eddies—an alternative way for tropical cyclones to leave fingerprints on the ocean besides the traditional near-inertial wave.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Different El Niño, Different Paths of North Equatorial Current
Different types of El Niño have different impacts on the North Equatorial Current Bifurcation and can be extended to ocean circulations in the Pacific and the global climate system.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Investigating Rates of Microbial Methane Munching in the Ocean
Analyses of microbial activity in seawater samples help clarify the fate of methane released from the seafloor.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Different Eddy Transport for “Lazy” and “Athletic” Observers
Two specifications of fluid dynamics—taking measurements at a fixed point and following a fluid parcel—are compared for quantifying eddy transport in the ocean.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How Are Microplastics Transported to Polar Regions?
New modeling indicates that global subsurface ocean currents distribute submerged microplastics along very different routes than those traveled by floating plastic debris.