Though ship-based sounding has mapped some areas of the ocean floor in higher resolution, researchers have used SWOT data to create a detailed new map of the seafloor, including thousands of previously undetected small seamounts.
ocean circulation
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The North Atlantic Is Getting Saltier
The Atlantic is already the saltiest of Earth’s oceans, and parts of it are getting saltier. Winds and warming may be to blame.
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Clipper Sets Sail for an Ocean Millions of Miles Away
Europa Clipper will assess whether Jupiter’s moon has the right ingredients to host life, and could illuminate the mysteries of icy worlds throughout the solar system.
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Model Suggests Undersea Mountains Help Mix the Global Ocean
Seamounts may play a significant role in ocean turbulence and the upwelling of deep waters.
Posted inEditors' Vox
An All-Community Push to “Close the Loops” on Southern Ocean Dynamics
A new study highlights the connected nature of the Southern Ocean dynamic system, the research priorities needed to understand its influence on climate change, the importance of cross-disciplinary collaborations.
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Scientists Are “Gobsmacked” by the Variability of Seafloor Currents
The speed and direction of deep currents off Mozambique’s coast are more subject to change than scientists expected.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
The Many Adventures of Nitrogen in the Arctic Ocean
New research reviews how our atmosphere’s most abundant element cycles through the Arctic Ocean—and how climate change could affect the process.
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Scientists Find Clues to Atlantic Current’s Future in Ancient Iceberg Debris
Modern ice loss from Greenland rivals the most dramatic episodes of ice sheet collapse.
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Europa’s Ocean Might Lack the Ingredients for Life
The lack of volcanism and tectonic activity on Europa’s seafloor might hinder the moon’s potential to host living organisms.
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Mars as a Driver of Deep-Sea Erosion
An analysis of breaks in deep-sea sediment links the geological record to a 2.4-million-year cycle that heats Earth and ventilates our oceans.