Scientists have long suspected that high salinity levels in the deep ocean were responsible for keeping carbon dioxide locked away during the last ice age. New research finds the strongest evidence yet.
Southern Ocean
Posted inResearch Spotlights
The Southern Ocean May Be Building Up a Massive Burp
Modeled results suggest that if anthropogenic emissions decrease and the atmosphere cools, heat stored in the Southern Ocean could be released abruptly in a few hundred years, kicking off a temporary warming period.
Posted inNews
La salinidad del Océano Austral podría estar desencadenando la pérdida de hielo marino
Nuevas tecnologías satelitales han revelado que el Océano Austral se está volviendo más salino, un giro inesperado de los eventos que podría representar un gran problema para la Antártida.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Mysteriously Bright Waters near Antarctica Explained
Shiny-shelled diatoms make a remote part of the Southern Ocean appear especially reflective in satellite imagery.
Posted inNews
Southern Ocean Salinity May Be Triggering Sea Ice Loss
New satellite technology has revealed that the Southern Ocean is getting saltier, an unexpected turn of events that could spell big trouble for Antarctica.
Posted inNews
Whaling Records Can Help Improve Estimates of Sea Ice Extent
The locations of humpback whale catches in the early 20th century indicate that most climate models overestimate the historic extent of sea ice in the Southern Ocean.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
On the Origins of Subantarctic Mode Waters
A modeling study shows how warm subtropical waters and cold Antarctic waters combine to form an Indo-Pacific water mass that plays a key role in Earth’s climate.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Seasonal Iron Cycle and Production in the Subantarctic Southern Ocean
Long-term monitoring at a site in the subantarctic region south of Australia combined with ship-based observations reveals three distinct phases between cycles of phytoplankton productivity and dissolved iron.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Robotic Floats Quantify Sinking Carbon in the Southern Ocean
An estimated 2.69 billion tons of carbon are exported to the deep sea every year from the Southern Ocean.