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| Open AccessSubmarine melting of glaciers in Greenland amplified by atmospheric warming
Atmospheric variability can amplify ocean-driven submarine melting of marine-terminating glaciers in Greenland, according to an analysis of observations and models from 1979 to 2018.
- D. A. Slater
- & F. Straneo
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Article
| Open AccessRapid retreat of Thwaites Glacier in the pre-satellite era
The Thwaites Glacier grounding zone has experienced sustained pulses of rapid retreat over the past two centuries, according to sea floor observations obtained by an autonomous underwater vehicle.
- Alastair G. C. Graham
- , Anna Wåhlin
- & Robert D. Larter
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News & Views |
Lingering end to a salinity crisis
Modelling indicates that a return to fully normal marine conditions in the Mediterranean following the flooding that ended the Messinian Salinity Crisis was delayed by salt transfers and temporarily enhanced stratification.
- Angelo Camerlenghi
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Article |
Sill-controlled salinity contrasts followed post-Messinian flooding of the Mediterranean
Flooding of the desiccated Mediterranean ~5 Myr ago resulted in east–west differences in salinity stratification, which delayed the return of normal marine conditions throughout the basin, according to proxy records and model simulations.
- Udara Amarathunga
- , Andrew McC. Hogg
- & Stewart Gilmore
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Article |
Mid-Pliocene El Niño/Southern Oscillation suppressed by Pacific intertropical convergence zone shift
Suppressed El Niño/Southern Oscillation variability during the mid-Pliocene Warm Period was caused mainly by a northward displacement of the intertropical convergence zone, according to an analysis of a large ensemble of climate model simulations.
- Gabriel M. Pontes
- , Andréa S. Taschetto
- & Arthur M. Oldeman
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News & Views |
Islands on the move
Sea level rise causes barrier islands to migrate landward. Coastal evolution modelling reveals a centennial-scale lag in island response time and suggests migration rates will increase by 50% within the next century, even if sea level were to stabilize.
- Laura J. Moore
- & A. Brad Murray
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Article |
Dissolved organic phosphorus concentrations in the surface ocean controlled by both phosphate and iron stress
Production and consumption of dissolved organic phosphorus in the surface ocean is controlled by the interplay between phosphate and iron stress, according to global analyses of the distribution of marine nutrients.
- Zhou Liang
- , Robert T. Letscher
- & Angela N. Knapp
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Article |
Arctic Ocean’s wintertime mercury concentrations limited by seasonal loss on the shelf
The mercury concentration in the Arctic Ocean is lower and less variable in winter than in summer due to seasonal loss of inorganic mercury on the shelf, according to mercury measurements along a gradient in the northern Barents Sea.
- Stephen G. Kohler
- , Lars-Eric Heimbürger-Boavida
- & Murat V. Ardelan
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Article |
Lag in response of coastal barrier-island retreat to sea-level rise
Coastal evolution simulations suggest that the modern retreat of coastal barrier islands is controlled by cumulative sea-level rise over the past several centuries and will accelerate by 50% within a century, even if sea-level rise remains at present rates.
- Giulio Mariotti
- & Christopher J. Hein
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Research Briefing |
Closed ocean gateways in the Canadian archipelago are key to glaciation in Scandinavia
In a simulation with a state-of-the-art climate model, obstruction of the ocean gateways in the Canadian archipelago due to ice-sheet growth reroutes currents and alters North Atlantic Ocean conditions, permitting glacial inception in Scandinavia. This mechanism could help to explain periods of rapid ice-sheet growth in Earth’s history.
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Article |
The importance of Canadian Arctic Archipelago gateways for glacial expansion in Scandinavia
Infilling of Canadian Arctic ocean gateways by the Laurentide Ice Sheet probably triggered Scandinavian glaciation during the last glacial inception by increasing North Atlantic freshwater inputs, according to coupled ice-sheet–climate-model simulations.
- Marcus Lofverstrom
- , Diane M. Thompson
- & Esther C. Brady
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Article |
Basin-scale biogeochemical and ecological impacts of islands in the tropical Pacific Ocean
Tropical Pacific islands enhance phytoplankton biomass, productivity and biodiversity at both local and basin scales, according to ocean colour satellite observations used to identify island-enriched waters.
- Monique Messié
- , Anne Petrenko
- & Séverine Alvain
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Perspective |
Uncertain response of ocean biological carbon export in a changing world
A synthesis of recent work on marine carbon export fluxes finds that many processes that are key to understanding the effects of a warming climate on ocean carbon cycling are missing from current climate models.
- Stephanie A. Henson
- , Charlotte Laufkötter
- & Emma L. Cavan
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Article |
Intense upper ocean mixing due to large aggregations of spawning fish
Large groups of spawning fish can induce upper ocean mixing on the same scale as geophysical processes, according to observations of small-scale turbulence caused by anchovy spawning aggregations in a coastal upwelling area.
- Bieito Fernández Castro
- , Marian Peña
- & Beatriz Mouriño-Carballido
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Article |
Sea spray as an obscured source for marine cloud nuclei
Very small aerosols from sea spray make up a larger proportion of cloud condensation nuclei than previously recognized, according to an analysis of five years of aerosol ground-based measurement data from over the Atlantic Ocean.
- Wei Xu
- , Jurgita Ovadnevaite
- & Colin O’Dowd
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Article |
Asymmetry in the seasonal cycle of Antarctic sea ice driven by insolation
Solar radiation drives the asymmetry in the seasonal cycle of Antarctic sea ice, according to climate model simulations.
- L. A. Roach
- , I. Eisenman
- & C. M. Bitz
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Article |
Millennial and centennial CO2 release from the Southern Ocean during the last deglaciation
Expansions of Antarctic Intermediate Water can help explain centennial-scale atmospheric CO2 highs during the last deglaciation, according to a reconstruction of the marine carbonate system in the Southern Ocean.
- Jimin Yu
- , Delia W. Oppo
- & Chen Xu
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Matters Arising |
Reply to: Atlantic circulation change still uncertain
- L. Caesar
- , G. D. McCarthy
- & S. Rahmstorf
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Matters Arising |
Atlantic circulation change still uncertain
- K. Halimeda Kilbourne
- , Alan D. Wanamaker
- & Nina M. Whitney
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Article
| Open AccessEl Niño/Southern Oscillation inhibited by submesoscale ocean eddies
Submesoscale ocean eddies inhibit the growth of La Niña and El Niño events, according to an analysis of long-term high-resolution global climate simulations.
- Shengpeng Wang
- , Zhao Jing
- & Haiyuan Yang
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Article |
Stress, rigidity and sediment strength control megathrust earthquake and tsunami dynamics
Tsunamis generated by megathrust earthquakes are controlled by regional-scale structural heterogeneity, according to numerical modelling based on the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
- Thomas Ulrich
- , Alice-Agnes Gabriel
- & Elizabeth H. Madden
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Matters Arising |
Questioning High Nitrogen Fixation Rate Measurements in the Southern Ocean
- Angelicque E. White
- , Julie Granger
- & Kendra Turk-Kubo
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Matters Arising |
Reply to: Questioning High Nitrogen Fixation Rate Measurements in the Southern Ocean
- Takuhei Shiozaki
- , Keisuke Inomura
- & Naomi Harada
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Brief Communication |
Tsunami size variability with rupture depth
Rupture depth helps explain variations in the size of tsunamis produced by earthquakes, according to numerical modelling and an array of observations.
- Kwok Fai Cheung
- , Thorne Lay
- & Yoshiki Yamazaki
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Article |
Development of ice-shelf estuaries promotes fractures and calving
Ice-shelf surface rivers can form estuaries that promote fracturing and enhance calving, according to observations from the Petermann and Ryder ice shelves in Greenland.
- Alexandra L. Boghosian
- , Lincoln H. Pitcher
- & Robin E. Bell
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Article |
Late Ordovician climate change and extinctions driven by elevated volcanic nutrient supply
Increased volcanism-related phosphorus delivery to the Late Ordovician ocean helps explain widespread cooling and eutrophication-driven extinctions, as shown by a biogeochemical model incorporating volcanic ash phosphorus and carbon isotope records.
- Jack Longman
- , Benjamin J. W. Mills
- & Martin R. Palmer
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Article |
Marsh resilience to sea-level rise reduced by storm-surge barriers in the Venice Lagoon
Sediment supply to the Venice Lagoon is substantially reduced by flood barriers inhibiting storm-related sediment reworking and transport, according to observations through multiple storm events before and after barrier installation.
- Davide Tognin
- , Andrea D’Alpaos
- & Luca Carniello
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Article
| Open AccessNitrogen isotopic constraints on nutrient transport to the upper ocean
Much of the nutrient transport from the deep ocean into the ocean’s upper water column occurs through the Southern Ocean, with mixing and advection playing complementary roles, according to a box model analysis of the isotopic composition of ocean nitrate.
- François Fripiat
- , Alfredo Martínez-García
- & Gerald H. Haug
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Article |
Direct astronomical influence on abrupt climate variability
Millennial-scale climate oscillations can arise from orbital forcing alone during relatively stable glacial climate states, according to an analysis of high- and low-latitude climate proxy records as well as climate modelling.
- Xu Zhang
- , Stephen Barker
- & Fahu Chen
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Article |
End-Permian marine extinction due to temperature-driven nutrient recycling and euxinia
Warming-enhanced microbial respiration can explain marine anoxia patterns across depth, a key driver of the end-Permian mass extinction, according to biogeochemical modelling and geochemical proxy records.
- Dominik Hülse
- , Kimberly V. Lau
- & Andy Ridgwell
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Article |
Shutdown of Southern Ocean convection controls long-term greenhouse gas-induced warming
Southern Ocean deep convection governs the magnitude of long-term warming in response to greenhouse gases, according to an analysis of Earth system models.
- Ada Gjermundsen
- , Aleksi Nummelin
- & Michael Schulz
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Article |
Sinking enhances the degradation of organic particles by marine bacteria
Faster sinking rates can enhance bacterial degradation of organic particles in the ocean due to flow-induced removal of waste products, according to laboratory experiments and modelling of the marine carbon pump.
- Uria Alcolombri
- , François J. Peaudecerf
- & Roman Stocker
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Article |
ENSO-driven coupled megadroughts in North and South America over the last millennium
Cold ENSO states can lead to the simultaneous occurrence of megadroughts in southwestern North and South America, according to a hydroclimate reconstruction of the last thousand years assimilating palaeoclimate records with climate model constraints.
- Nathan J. Steiger
- , Jason E. Smerdon
- & Arianna M. Varuolo-Clarke
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Article |
Zonal wave 3 pattern in the Southern Hemisphere generated by tropical convection
The zonal wave 3 circulation pattern in the Southern Hemisphere is driven by tropical convection, according to results from an atmospheric general circulation model.
- Rishav Goyal
- , Martin Jucker
- & Matthew H. England
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Article |
Constraint on net primary productivity of the global ocean by Argo oxygen measurements
Argo measurements provide a constrained estimate of net primary productivity of the global ocean of 53 Pg C y–1, according to a global analysis of diel oxygen variations.
- Kenneth S. Johnson
- & Mariana B. Bif
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Article
| Open AccessArctic Ocean stratification set by sea level and freshwater inputs since the last ice age
Stratification of the central Arctic Ocean, important for sea-ice persistence, has been controlled by a balance of sea level and freshwater inputs since the last ice age, according to foraminifera-bound nitrogen isotope records that are indicative of surface-water nutrient levels covering the past 35,000 years.
- Jesse R. Farmer
- , Daniel M. Sigman
- & Gerald H. Haug
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News & Views |
Big potential for tiny droplets
Sea spray droplets contribute to the exchange of gases between the oceans and atmosphere. Accounting for this spray-mediated pathway may provide more accurate modelling of air–sea interactions and the ocean response to climate change.
- Magdalena D. Anguelova
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Article |
The role of sea spray in atmosphere–ocean gas exchange
At high winds, above 18 metres per second, sea-spray droplets act as a pathway for atmosphere–ocean gas exchange, especially in regions such as the Southern Ocean, according to a chemically modified microphysical model.
- Allison Staniec
- , Penny Vlahos
- & Edward C. Monahan
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Article |
Circulation-driven variability of Atlantic anthropogenic carbon transports and uptake
Slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation from 2004 to 2012 led to a decrease in its relative contribution to North Atlantic carbon accumulation, while the supply from air–sea fluxes increased, according to an analysis of ocean mooring circulation observations.
- Peter J. Brown
- , Elaine L. McDonagh
- & Marie-José Messias
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Article |
Submarine landslides triggered by iceberg collision with the seafloor
Iceberg gouging of continental slopes can initiate submarine landslides, potentially far from the iceberg source region, according to observations and geotechnical analysis of an event in a Baffin Island fjord.
- Alexandre Normandeau
- , Kevin MacKillop
- & John Hughes Clarke
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Review Article |
Phosphorus as an integral component of global marine biogeochemistry
Phosphorus plays a dynamic and complex role in marine biogeochemistry, which is closely connected to carbon, nitrogen and metal cycling, according to a literature synthesis on recent advances in understandings of the marine phosphorus cycle.
- Solange Duhamel
- , Julia M. Diaz
- & Emily M. Waggoner
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News & Views |
Dissolution resolution
Analysis of global ocean carbonate chemistry and water mass age information confirms the substantial in situ dissolution of calcium carbonate particles in the upper water column.
- Kitack Lee
- & Richard A. Feely
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Article |
Distinct sources of interannual subtropical and subpolar Atlantic overturning variability
Wind stress controls annual variations in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation at mid-latitudes, while surface buoyancy also matters at subpolar latitudes, according to an attribution analysis using a numerical model constrained by observational array data.
- Yavor Kostov
- , Helen L. Johnson
- & Timothy Smith
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Article
| Open AccessLarge subglacial source of mercury from the southwestern margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet
Meltwaters from the southwestern margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet contain exceptionally high concentrations of mercury, exporting up to more than 200 kmol of dissolved mercury every year, suggest mercury measurements from three glacial catchments.
- Jon R. Hawkings
- , Benjamin S. Linhoff
- & Robert G. M. Spencer
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Article |
Calcium carbonate dissolution patterns in the ocean
About 50% of total dissolution of marine calcium carbonate occurs in the water column below 300 m depth while sinking to the seafloor, according to a reconstruction of settling fluxes of calcium carbonate in major oceanic regions from seawater observations.
- Olivier Sulpis
- , Emil Jeansson
- & Jack J. Middelburg
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Matters Arising |
Climate did not drive Common Era Maldivian sea-level lowstands
- Christopher G. Piecuch
- , Andrew C. Kemp
- & Aron J. Meltzner
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Article |
Atlantic Equatorial Undercurrent intensification counteracts warming-induced deoxygenation
Recent strengthening of the Equatorial Undercurrent counteracts warming-induced deoxygenation in the equatorial Atlantic, according to an analysis of long-term moored observations.
- Peter Brandt
- , Johannes Hahn
- & Marcus Dengler
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News & Views |
Shunt or shuttle
Nutrient availability influences the susceptibility of marine primary producers to viral infection. For diatoms in iron-limited waters, reduced infection rates impact marine biogeochemical cycles by enhancing the flux of material to depth.
- Alex J. Poulton
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Article |
Impaired viral infection and reduced mortality of diatoms in iron-limited oceanic regions
Diatoms are less susceptible to viral infection in iron-limited oceans, according to metatranscriptomic analyses of diatoms and viruses in nutrient-replete and limited regions.
- Chana F. Kranzler
- , Mark A. Brzezinski
- & Kimberlee Thamatrakoln