Featured
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| Open AccessTemperature alters the predator-prey size relationships and size-selectivity of Southern Ocean fish
Using prey size measurements from ten Southern Ocean lanternfish species sampled across >10° of latitude, this study shows that higher temperatures were associated with smaller fish and an overall decrease in the size of fish relative to their prey. Ocean warming may therefore alter the diversity and size structuring of trophic interactions, reducing the stability of marine ecosystems.
- Patrick Eskuche-Keith
- , Simeon L. Hill
- & Eoin J. O’Gorman
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Article
| Open AccessHuman-induced intensified seasonal cycle of sea surface temperature
The authors reveal a 3.9% intensification in the sea surface temperature seasonal cycle over the past four decades, with hotspot regions experiencing intensification of up to 10%. This intensification extends throughout the mixed layer, amplifying the seasonal cycle of upper-ocean oxygenation.
- Fukai Liu
- , Fengfei Song
- & Yiyong Luo
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Article
| Open AccessOcean internal tides suppress tropical cyclones in the South China Sea
The authors show that the presence of strong ocean internal tides in the South China Sea suppresses tropical cyclone intensification, mitigating their impacts on the highly populated surrounding regions.
- Shoude Guan
- , Fei-Fei Jin
- & Jinbao Song
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Article
| Open AccessLower Ordovician synziphosurine reveals early euchelicerate diversity and evolution
Here, the authors describe an early synziphosurine from the Lower Ordovician Fezouata Shale of Morocco, which exhibits traits that elucidate the long-contentious relationships between crown euchelicerates and their sister taxa, and also clarifies euchelicerate body plan evolution.
- Lorenzo Lustri
- , Pierre Gueriau
- & Allison C. Daley
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Article
| Open AccessContextual and combinatorial structure in sperm whale vocalisations
Sperm whales use sequences of clicks to communicate. Here, the authors show that these vocalizations are significantly more complex than previously believed-the “sperm whale phonetic alphabet" has both combinatorial structure and call modulation dependent on the conversational context.
- Pratyusha Sharma
- , Shane Gero
- & Jacob Andreas
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Article
| Open AccessGlobally occurring pelagiphage infections create ribosome-deprived cells
SAR11 bacteria and their phages are abundant in the oceans. Here the authors quantify the number of phage-infected SAR11 cells using microscopy techniques and discover phage-infected cells without any detectable ribosomes. They hypothesize that ribosomal RNA may be used for the synthesis of phage genomes.
- Jan D. Brüwer
- , Chandni Sidhu
- & Bernhard M. Fuchs
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal census of the significance of giant mesopelagic protists to the marine carbon and silicon cycles
Rhizaria are abundant protists in the ocean and likely important to biogeochemical cycling. In this study the authors assess the global distribution, biomass and biogeochemical significance of Rhizaria, finding that they play an important role in carbon flux attenuation and dominate silicon cycling in the mesopelagic zone.
- Manon Laget
- , Laetitia Drago
- & Tristan Biard
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Article
| Open AccessModerate greenhouse climate and rapid carbonate formation after Marinoan snowball Earth
When the Marinoan snowball Earth deglaciated, the ocean’s chemistry determined the strength and duration of the ensuing supergreenhouse climate, while the sudden warming and biological activity could have led to a rapid formation of cap dolostones.
- Lennart Ramme
- , Tatiana Ilyina
- & Jochem Marotzke
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Article
| Open AccessStrong linkage between benthic oxygen uptake and bacterial tetraether lipids in deep-sea trench regions
Xiao et al. uncover a strong linkage between marine bacterial tetraether lipids and benthic oxygen uptake in deepsea trench regions, indicating their potential for assessing microbial diagenetic activity and organic carbon degradation.
- Wenjie Xiao
- , Yunping Xu
- & Ronnie N. Glud
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Article
| Open AccessResponses of marine trophic levels to the combined effects of ocean acidification and warming
Marine organisms are increasingly exposed to both ocean acidification and warming. Here, the authors report a meta-analysis of fully factorial experiments with both acidification and warming treatments, finding that synergistic interactions are less common than expected.
- Nan Hu
- , Paul E. Bourdeau
- & Johan Hollander
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Comment
| Open AccessShining light on dinoflagellate photosystem I
Dinoflagellates are ecologically important and essential to corals and other cnidarians as phytosymbionts, but their photosystems had been underexplored. Recently, photosystem I (PSI) of dinoflagellate Symbiodinium sp. was structurally characterized using cryo-Electron Microscopy (cryo-EM). These analyses revealed a distinct organization of the PSI supercomplex, including two previously unidentified subunits, PsaT and PsaU, and shed light on interactions between light harvesting antenna proteins and the PSI core. These results have implications with respect to the evolution of dinoflagellates and their association with cnidarians.
- Senjie Lin
- , Shuaishuai Wu
- & Arthur R. Grossman
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Article
| Open AccessSustained increase in suspended sediments near global river deltas over the past two decades
River sediments play a critical role in sustaining coastal ecosystems. This study examines patterns of coastal suspended sediment concentration (SSC) for 349 deltas worldwide via satellite images and investigated the possible driving factors.
- Xuejiao Hou
- , Danghan Xie
- & Jaap H. Nienhuis
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Article
| Open AccessBioadhesive interface for marine sensors on diverse soft fragile species
It is useful to be able to equip marine animals with sensors, but it can be challenging to attach these to soft marine organisms. Here, the authors use an adhesive hydrogel to achieve rapid attachment of sensors to marine life including jellyfish, squid and lobster.
- Camilo Duque Londono
- , Seth F. Cones
- & Xuanhe Zhao
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Article
| Open AccessWeakened western Indian Ocean dominance on Antarctic sea ice variability in a changing climate
The authors show that the influence of the western Indian Ocean on Antarctic sea ice variability in austral spring has been weakening under greenhouse global warming.
- Li Zhang
- , Xuya Ren
- & Lixin Wu
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Article
| Open AccessDiversity and potential host-interactions of viruses inhabiting deep-sea seamount sediments
Little is known about viral communities in deep-sea seamounts. In this study, the authors performed metagenomic and virome analysis from sediments in the western Pacific Ocean and characterize the diversity, distribution and potential ecological roles of viruses in deep-sea seamount sediments.
- Meishun Yu
- , Menghui Zhang
- & Min Jin
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Article
| Open AccessThe deepwater oxygen deficit in stratified shallow seas is mediated by diapycnal mixing
Oxygen deprivation in the marine environment is likely to be exacerbated by climate change. We present data to show the potential impact of changing weather patterns in the development of a seasonal oxygen deficit in seasonally stratifying shelf seas.
- Tom Rippeth
- , Sijing Shen
- & Jonathan Sharples
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Article
| Open AccessAmundsen Sea circulation controls bottom upwelling and Antarctic Pine Island and Thwaites ice shelf melting
On-shelf circulation modulates vertical velocity via bottom Ekman dynamics, controlling thermocline depth and melting of Amundsen Sea ice shelves. This mechanism does not support the widely believed linkage between off-shelf wind and on-shelf heat.
- Taewook Park
- , Yoshihiro Nakayama
- & SungHyun Nam
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessReply to: Rectifying misinformation on the climate intervention potential of ocean afforestation
- Lennart T. Bach
- , Veronica Tamsitt
- & Philip W. Boyd
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessRectifying misinformation on the climate intervention potential of ocean afforestation
- Victor Smetacek
- , Mar Fernández-Méndez
- & Jiajun Wu
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Article
| Open AccessContamination of 8.2 ka cold climate records by the Storegga tsunami in the Nordic Seas
Tsunamis can disturb sea floor sediments. This study shows that climate records of the famous 8200-year-old cold spell inferred from Norwegian Sea sediments are likely contaminated by tsunami waves from the giant Storegga Landslide.
- Stein Bondevik
- , Bjørg Risebrobakken
- & Finn Løvholt
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Article
| Open AccessIce shelf basal channel shape determines channelized ice-ocean interactions
Interactions between meltwater flow and ice shelf basal channels are studied using a 3D boundary current model. Deep channels are found to significantly enhance channelized basal melting, meltwater channeling, and warming and salinization of channel flow.
- Chen Cheng
- , Adrian Jenkins
- & Chengyan Liu
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| Open AccessLate Paleozoic oxygenation of marine environments supported by dolomite U-Pb dating
A proxy is developed for oxygen levels in seawater, based on U-Pb dating of dolomite. It shows a step-increase in O2 400 million years ago, suggesting that oceans were largely oxygen-limited at the ‘dawn’ of animal life.
- Michal Ben-Israel
- , Robert M. Holder
- & Uri Ryb
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Article
| Open AccessThe role of mountains in shaping the global meridional overturning circulation
This paper presents quantitative evaluation of the role of different continental mountains in shaping the global meridional overturning circulation. The Tibetan Plateau is likely to have been crucial in molding the global thermohaline circulation.
- Haijun Yang
- , Rui Jiang
- & Jiangping Huang
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Article
| Open AccessHigh hydrostatic pressure stimulates microbial nitrate reduction in hadal trench sediments under oxic conditions
Hadal trenches are the deepest oceanic ecosystems, with water depth over 6000 m, and are among the least explored habitats on Earth. This research demonstrates that high hydrostatic pressure enhances denitrification activity under oxic conditions, potentially making hadal trenches fixed nitrogen loss hotpots.
- Na Yang
- , Yongxin Lv
- & Yu Zhang
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessCoastal shoreline change assessments at global scales
- Jonathan A. Warrick
- , Daniel Buscombe
- & Adam P. Young
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessReply to: Coastal shoreline change assessments at global scales
- Rafael Almar
- , Julien Boucharel
- & Erwin W. J. Bergsma
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Article
| Open AccessMarine heatwaves disrupt ecosystem structure and function via altered food webs and energy flux
This work leverages a new diet database and six long term monitoring efforts of 361 taxa to build comparable pre- and post-heatwave ecosystem models. The study provides empirical demonstration of changes in ecosystem-wide patterns of energy flux and biomass in response to marine heatwaves.
- Dylan G. E. Gomes
- , James J. Ruzicka
- & Joshua D. Stewart
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Article
| Open AccessSystematic review of the uncertainty of coral reef futures under climate change
Global warming targets are considered inadequate to protect coral reefs, but this prognosis is based on models with similar approaches. This systematic review of studies that project coral responses to climate change found that divergent modelling methodologies had discrepancies in coral reef outcomes, and that those used for climate change syntheses may project more severe consequences than other methods.
- Shannon G. Klein
- , Cassandra Roch
- & Carlos M. Duarte
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Article
| Open AccessAtlantic origin of the increasing Asian westerly jet interannual variability
The summer jet stream above East Asia has become more variable in recent decades, leading to weather and climate extremes across Eurasia. The authors show that a Scandinavian Pattern in preceding February is driving the strong variability.
- Lifei Lin
- , Chundi Hu
- & Dake Chen
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Article
| Open AccessCross-basin and cross-taxa patterns of marine community tropicalization and deborealization in warming European seas
Climate change is shifting species distribution globally. Here, the authors track four decades of changes in the thermal affinity of 1,817 marine species across European seas, showing that most communities have responded to ongoing ocean warming via increases of warm-water species or decreases of cold-water species.
- Guillem Chust
- , Ernesto Villarino
- & Martin Lindegren
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Article
| Open AccessThe North Equatorial Current and rapid intensification of super typhoons
The authors show that the deep thermocline and strong stratification of the North Equatorial Current of the western North Pacific cause rapid intensification and maintain tropical cyclones, as with 2018 Mangkhut, the longest Category-5 super typhoon in record.
- Sok Kuh Kang
- , Sung-Hun Kim
- & Brian Ward
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Article
| Open AccessCirculation of hydraulically ponded turbidity currents and the filling of continental slope minibasins
Gravity currents transporting particulates down continental slopes can encounter large depressions. Current interactions with confining topography induce horizontal circulation cells that control deposition of sediment in depressions and reduce their capacity to trap particulates.
- J. Kevin Reece
- , Robert M. Dorrell
- & Kyle M. Straub
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Article
| Open AccessCircum-Antarctic bottom water formation mediated by tides and topographic waves
This study identifies the key roles of tides and topographic waves in forming Antarctic bottom water in different regions. The Antarctic coastline is divided into four overflow dynamical regimes, providing guidance for future observations.
- Xianxian Han
- , Andrew L. Stewart
- & Arnold L. Gordon
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Article
| Open AccessThe inclusion of Amazon mangroves in Brazil’s REDD+ program
A new study shows that deforestation of Amazon mangroves releases up to four times more carbon dioxide when compared to emissions arising from terrestrial biomes. This study set a foundation for the use of mangroves in Brazil’s international policy agreements.
- Angelo F. Bernardino
- , Ana Carolina A. Mazzuco
- & J. Boone Kauffman
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Article
| Open AccessAnthropogenic carbon pathways towards the North Atlantic interior revealed by Argo-O2, neural networks and back-calculations
Large emissions of anthropogenic carbon dioxide have been partly absorbed by the oceans. Here, the authors use Argo-O2 floats combined with existing methods to study the distribution of this anthropogenic CO2 in the North Atlantic Ocean.
- Rémy Asselot
- , Lidia I. Carracedo
- & Fiz F. Pérez
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Article
| Open AccessAtlantic Water warming increases melt below Northeast Greenland’s last floating ice tongue
The 79 North Glacier features Greenland’s largest floating ice tongue, which has been thinning from below in the last few decades. Here, the drivers of the upward trend and interannual variability of basal melt are disentangled.
- Claudia Wekerle
- , Rebecca McPherson
- & Torsten Kanzow
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Article
| Open AccessPatterns in the temporal complexity of global chlorophyll concentration
For satellite data, noisy observations can often be ignored in favour of smooth trends and signals. Here, the authors developed a method to quantify the complexity of chlorophyll-α time series on a global scale, which led to the discovery of greater differences among regions than previously recognized.
- Vitul Agarwal
- , Jonathan Chávez-Casillas
- & Colleen B. Mouw
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal and regional ocean mass budget closure since 2003
This study shows that ice loss and human water use models explain global and regional satellite-observed ocean mass changes since 2003 and thereby pinpoint the main cause of sea level rise, with a negligible role coming from natural variability.
- Carsten Bjerre Ludwigsen
- , Ole Baltazar Andersen
- & Matt A. King
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Article
| Open AccessLarge-scale groundwater flow and sedimentary diagenesis in continental shelves influence marine chemical budgets
New mass-balance calculations show that the bulk chemistry of the ocean is strongly influenced by flow of seawater through sediments deep within continental shelves, with implications for global carbon budgets.
- Alicia M. Wilson
- , Andrew Osborne
- & Scott M. White
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Article
| Open AccessMonitoring ocean currents during the passage of Typhoon Muifa using optical-fiber distributed acoustic sensing
Using microseismic noise observed by distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) with a submarine cable, this study measures the magnitude and direction of ocean currents during the passage of typhoon Muifa and estimates the ocean wave propagation.
- Jianmin Lin
- , Sunke Fang
- & Wen Xu
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Article
| Open AccessEast Antarctic warming forced by ice loss during the Last Interglacial
Climate simulations of the Last Interglacial show that Antarctic ice loss induces warming of East Antarctica. Meltwater equivalent to the ice loss induces warming of the subsurface. Both effects can further enhance Antarctic ice sheet deterioration
- David K. Hutchinson
- , Laurie Menviel
- & Andrew McC. Hogg
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Article
| Open AccessSkillful multiyear prediction of marine habitat shifts jointly constrained by ocean temperature and dissolved oxygen
Here, the authors show that multiyear prediction of marine habitat shifts can be skillfully accomplished by combining trait based aerobic habitat constraints with a suite of initialized retrospective Earth System Model temperature forecasts.
- Zhuomin Chen
- , Samantha Siedlecki
- & Curtis A. Deutsch
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Article
| Open AccessAtmospheric deposition and river runoff stimulate the utilization of dissolved organic phosphorus in coastal seas
Increasing deposition of dissolved inorganic nitrogen in coastal oceans through the atmosphere and rivers exacerbate the deficiency of phosphate which stimulates the utilization of dissolved organic phosphorus by phytoplankton.
- Haoyu Jin
- , Chao Zhang
- & Huiwang Gao
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Article
| Open AccessPersistent warm-eddy transport to Antarctic ice shelves driven by enhanced summer westerlies
The offshore heat supplied to the Antarctic continental shelves by warm eddies has a potential impact on the melting of ice shelves. Here, how warm eddies form and intrude onto the continental shelf and play an important role in ice shelf melting is shown.
- Libao Gao
- , Xiaojun Yuan
- & Guy D. Williams
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Article
| Open AccessQuantifying coastal freshwater extremes during unprecedented rainfall using long timeseries multi-platform salinity observations
In 2022, record rainfall in Australia impacted coastal salinity and circulation. In this paper, the authors used ocean gliders to track extreme low salinity conditions that lasted months and extended over 70 km offshore.
- Neil Malan
- , Moninya Roughan
- & Tim Ingleton
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Article
| Open AccessEfficient biological carbon export to the mesopelagic ocean induced by submesoscale fronts
Submesoscale processes are ubiquitous in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. The authors show that carbon export efficiency is significantly strengthened under the influence of these episodic features by using high-frequency BGC-Argo observations.
- Mingxian Guo
- , Xiaogang Xing
- & Fei Chai
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Article
| Open AccessHigh Salinity Shelf Water production rates in Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea from high-resolution salinity observations
Antarctic Bottom Water ventilates the deep ocean, but studies of its source regions are limited due to scarce observations. Miller et al. leverage mooring data to quantify the production rate of a key constituent water mass produced in the Ross Sea.
- Una Kim Miller
- , Christopher J. Zappa
- & Won Sang Lee
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Article
| Open AccessAcceleration of the ocean warming from 1961 to 2022 unveiled by large-ensemble reanalyses
The authors used a state-of-the-science ensemble ocean reconstruction to analyze ocean heat content evolution over the last 62 years, focusing on the analysis of warming acceleration and the main sources of its uncertainty.
- Andrea Storto
- & Chunxue Yang
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Article
| Open AccessIncreasing tropical cyclone intensity in the western North Pacific partly driven by warming Tibetan Plateau
The weakened vertical wind shear is the primary driver behind increasing tropical cyclone intensity in the western North Pacific monsoon trough. This weakening is partly driven by warming in the Tibetan Plateau.
- Jing Xu
- , Ping Zhao
- & Lu Liu