Movement of carbon from land to ocean and atmosphere plays an important, but understudied, role in the global carbon cycle.
Oceans
Rivers Are Warming Up and Losing Oxygen
Researchers used deep learning to fill in the gaps of “patchy” water quality data, revealing decades-long trends toward warmer and less oxygenated rivers that could have worrisome consequences.
Patterns of Surface Warming Matter for Climate Sensitivity
Location, location, location. Surface temperature patterns play a fundamental role in Earth’s energy budget.
Biodegradable Sensors Could Explore the Seas More Sustainably
Researchers are developing environmentally friendly instruments to monitor the oceans.
Popping Bubbles Make Glaciers Melt Faster
Accounting for the newfound bubble effect could improve estimates of how sea-terminating glaciers melt underwater—and better anticipate their shrinkage as oceans warm.
Crowdsourced Science Pulls Off a Daring WWII Data Rescue
Newly declassified documents are making wartime weather observations in the Pacific Theater more robust, and could improve climate models today.
Rainfall from Tropical Storms Might Be on the Downswing
Two decades’ worth of satellite data suggest that the rainfall rates of tropical cyclones might be decreasing relative to background levels.
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.
Melting Glaciers as a Source of Lead in Coastal Waters
New experiments show how lead circulates through glaciers, meltwater, and sediments in polar environments.
A New Census of Plastic Debris Entering the Ocean
On the basis of thousands of measurements of plastic pollution spotted near coastlines and at sea, researchers estimate that roughly 500 million kilograms of plastic debris is entering the world’s oceans each year.
