A new optical fiber interferometry strain sensor tested off the Oregon coast holds promising prospects for seafloor geodesy.
Pacific Ocean
Audio Reveals Sizes of Methane Bubbles Rising from the Seafloor
A sensitive underwater microphone captures the sounds of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, escaping into waters off the coast of Oregon. Using this sound, researchers can estimate the bubbles’ sizes.
Energetics of Western Boundary Current Surface Flows Are Similar
Despite different wind forcing and air-sea heating conditions, the surface layer energetics of two Western Boundary Current systems in different ocean basins are surprisingly similar.
500 Years of Atmospheric River Landfalls in Southwestern USA
A network of tree-ring chronologies has been used to develop the first reconstruction of atmospheric river landfalls on the US Pacific Coast over the last 500 years.
Life and Death in the Deepest Depths of the Seafloor
Lacking light and energy, under-seafloor microbes rely on ancient organic materials to survive.
Unraveling Hemispheric Ocean Nitrate Supply Pathways
Subsurface measurements of nitrogen and oxygen isotope ratios in nitrate reveal a predominantly southern hemisphere supply of nitrate to the equatorial Pacific.
The Long Reach of El Niño’s Broom
Both the El Niño Southern Oscillation and natural variations in tropical Pacific weather conditions impact surface air quality in the Eastern United States.
Pacific’s Garbage Hot Spot Holds More Plastic Debris Than Was Thought
A nonprofit that helped to collect data for the research plans to use the study’s findings to help guide it in an upcoming campaign to remove buoyant plastic trash from ocean gyres.
One of World’s Oldest Animals Records Ocean Climate Change
Researchers probe millennia-old deep-ocean sponges for links between ocean nutrients and climate.
Calm Waters off Hawaii Harbor a “Nursery” of Sea Life
Ocean slicks—naturally occurring bands of smooth water—are home to an astounding diversity of fish larvae and other marine life, researchers show.