New satellite technology has revealed that the Southern Ocean is getting saltier, an unexpected turn of events that could spell big trouble for Antarctica.
Southern Ocean
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.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Forecasting the Future of Southern Ocean Ecosystems
A new ensemble of marine ecosystem models aims to improve understanding of how climate change will affect the waters surrounding Antarctica.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
How Southern Ocean Currents Modulate Global Biogeochemical Cycles
Swirling currents called mesoscale eddies occupy about 22% of the ice-free Southern Ocean. Using data from drifting floats and satellites, scientists report the impact these eddies have on biogeochemical cycles.
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.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Climate Model Simulates Unusually High Heat over the Southern Ocean
U.K. researchers compare HadGEM3-GC3.1 simulations of near-surface air temperatures with those from other state-of-the-art models.
Posted inFeatures
Confined at Sea at the End of the World
Embedded on a research cruise in the Antarctic, a journalist joins a scientists’ “summer camp.”