Ocean sciences articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ecosystem Based Management measures developed to prevent overfishing could be particularly important under climate change. Here the authors combine climate and fish stock modelling to show that EBM cap implementation reduces climate-driven fishery declines under RCP 4.5 and 8.5 before midcentury. However, there are thermal tipping points beyond which potential collapses are predicted.

    • K. K. Holsman
    • , A. C. Haynie
    •  & A. E. Punt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ocean uptake of carbon dioxide impacts the climate, but flux estimates from surface measurements have not been corrected for temperature differences between surface and water sampling depth. Making that correction, the authors find previous estimates for ocean uptake have been substantially underestimated.

    • Andrew J. Watson
    • , Ute Schuster
    •  & Lonneke Goddijn-Murphy

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Determination of 3D molecular structures remains challenging for natural products or organic compounds available in minute amounts. Here, the authors determine the structure of complex molecules, including few micrograms of briarane B-3 isolated from Briareum asbestinums, through measurement of 1H residual chemical shift anisotropy.

    • Nilamoni Nath
    • , Juan Carlos Fuentes-Monteverde
    •  & Christian Griesinger

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The asymmetry between El Niño and La Niña episodes in the tropical Pacific is often not well represented in models. Here, the authors show that this asymmetry is related to subsurface nonlinear dynamical heating and that a realistic representation of this process can potentially improve tropical climate projections.

    • Michiya Hayashi
    • , Fei-Fei Jin
    •  & Malte F. Stuecker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    East Antarctic ice shelves typically have cold ice cavities with low basal melt rates. Here the authors direct observational evidence of high basal melt rates beneath Shirase Glacier Tongue in East Antarctica, driven by inflowing warm water guided by a deep continuous trough extending to the continental slope.

    • Daisuke Hirano
    • , Takeshi Tamura
    •  & Shigeru Aoki

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The risks posed by plastic contamination of the ocean cannot be assessed as their amount and location remain largely unknown. Here the authors show that large quantities of microplastics exist below the ocean surface over the entire Atlantic in quantities greater than previously estimated.

    • Katsiaryna Pabortsava
    •  & Richard S. Lampitt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Some palaeotemperature proxies suffer from inaccuracies related to kinetic fractionations occurring during carbonate mineral growth. Here, the authors show that dual clumped isotope thermometry can identify the origin of these kinetic biases and allows for the reconstruction of accurate environmental temperatures.

    • David Bajnai
    • , Weifu Guo
    •  & Jens Fiebig

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ocean cold seeps are poorly understood relative to related systems like hydrothermal vents. Here the authors use high pressure bioreactors and microbial communities from a cold seep mud volcano and find a previously missing step of methane conversion to acetate that likely fuels heterotrophic communities.

    • Shanshan Yang
    • , Yongxin Lv
    •  & Yu Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How the tropical mixed layer of the ocean reacts to near-inertial waves has rarely been observed directly. Here, the authors present new data that shows strongly elevated vertical diffusive heat flux in the presence of near-inertial waves, causing a cooling of the mixed layer that is particularly strong in summer.

    • Rebecca Hummels
    • , Marcus Dengler
    •  & Peter Brandt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Brandl, Johansen et al. compare organismal traits, community structure, and productivity dynamics of cryptobenthic reef fishes across two locations, the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, the former of which harbors the world’s hottest coral reefs. They show that environmental extremes in the Arabian Gulf result in dramatically less diverse, abundant, and productive cryptobenthic fish assemblages, which could foreshadow the future of coral reef biodiversity and functioning.

    • Simon J. Brandl
    • , Jacob L. Johansen
    •  & John A. Burt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Predicted sea-level rise is widely anticipated to lead to increased coastal erosion, however, assessing how rocky coasts will respond to changes in marine conditions is difficult to constrain. Here, the authors find that a North Yorkshire rocky cliff has been eroding at a similar rate over the last 7 kyr, and they do not observe an increase in erosion rates in response to modern sea level rise.

    • Zuzanna M. Swirad
    • , Nick J. Rosser
    •  & John Barlow

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ocean oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) are known to emit the powerful greenhouse gas N2O, but global emission dynamics are not constrained. Here the authors use air trajectory analyses and find that air masses pick up N2O as they pass over OMZs, and that overall concentrations are elevated during La Niña events.

    • Andrew R. Babbin
    • , Elisabeth L. Boles
    •  & Ray F. Weiss

  • Perspective
    | Open Access

    Oceans provide important natural resources, but the management and governance of the ocean is complex and the ecosystem is suffering as a result. The authors discuss current barriers to sustainable ocean governance and suggest pathways forward.

    • Tanya Brodie Rudolph
    • , Mary Ruckelshaus
    •  & Philile Mbatha

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Anthropogenic stressors affect many aspects of marine organismal health. Here, the authors expose surgeonfish to temperature and pesticide stressors and show that the stressors, separately and in combination, have adverse effects on thyroid signaling, which disrupts several sensory systems and important predation defenses.

    • Marc Besson
    • , William E. Feeney
    •  & David Lecchini

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Microbial ammonia oxidation is important in marine nutrient cycling and greenhouse gas dynamics, but the responses to ocean warming are unclear. Here coast to open ocean incubations show that projected year 2100 temperatures might be too hot for these microbes in oligotrophic regions to handle, but may facilitate oxidation rates in coastal waters.

    • Zhen-Zhen Zheng
    • , Li-Wei Zheng
    •  & Shuh-Ji Kao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Little is known about gene expression of organisms in the deep sea, partially owing to constraints on sampling these organisms in situ. Here the authors circumvent this problem, fixing tissue of a deep-sea mussel at 1,688 m in depth, and later analyzing transcriptomes to reveal gene expression patterns showing tidal oscillations.

    • Audrey M. Mat
    • , Jozée Sarrazin
    •  & Marjolaine Matabos

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Monomethylmercury is a toxin that humans can be exposed to after consumption of seafood in which it has bioaccumulated. Here the authors show that amphipods in the deepest point of the global ocean contain monomethylmercury with surface origins, suggesting rapid sinking of this toxin on particles.

    • Ruoyu Sun
    • , Jingjing Yuan
    •  & Congqiang Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors here report tensile properties of polycrystalline methane hydrate at the micron scale by applying a contactless, thermos-induced stress to a tenuous shell of hydrate grown in a thin glass capillary. The results suggest that the cohesive strength of methane hydrate in marine settings may be an order of magnitude less than currently thought.

    • Dyhia Atig
    • , Daniel Broseta
    •  & Ross Brown

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Satellites can observe marine phytoplankton, but observations are sparse in seasonally dark, cloudy environments like the Southern Ocean. These authors use Argo floats to track the fate of phytoplankton blooms off Antarctica and determine 10% of biomass is exported, while 90% is prey to grazing.

    • Sébastien Moreau
    • , Philip W. Boyd
    •  & Peter G. Strutton

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Black carbon is a recalcitrant and unique form of organic carbon formed from incomplete combustion. Here the authors use global sampling to reduce uncertainty in the flux of terrestrial black carbon to the oceans, predicting that 34% of black carbon produced by fires has an oceanic fate.

    • Matthew W. Jones
    • , Alysha I. Coppola
    •  & Timothy A. Quine

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Anthropogenic CO2 is acidifying the ocean, but knowledge of the carbonate properties underlying these dynamics in coastal oceans is lacking. Here, the authors reveal spatial distribution patterns and variability in carbonate chemistry along North America’s coasts.

    • Wei-Jun Cai
    • , Yuan-Yuan Xu
    •  & Dwight K. Gledhill

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Every year, hundreds of people die at sea because of vessel accidents, and a key challenge in reducing these fatalities is to make Search and Rescue (SAR) planning more efficient. Here, the authors uncover hidden flow features that attract floating objects, providing specific information for optimal SAR planning.

    • Mattia Serra
    • , Pratik Sathe
    •  & George Haller

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Plastic pollution has infiltrated every ecosystem, but few studies have quantified the biogeochemical or ecological effects of plastic. Here the authors show that microplastics in ocean sediment can significantly alter microbial community structure and nitrogen cycling.

    • Meredith E. Seeley
    • , Bongkeun Song
    •  & Robert C. Hale

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Numerous marine ecosystem models are used to project animal biomass over time but integrating them can be challenging. Here the authors develop a test for statistical significance in multi-model ensemble trends, and thus relate future biomass trends to current patterns of ecological and socioeconomic status.

    • Daniel G. Boyce
    • , Heike K. Lotze
    •  & Boris Worm

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Previous work suggests that marine oxygen levels and bioturbation are important factors that shape phosphorus burial and the size of the marine biosphere. Here the authors show that seawater calcium concentration is a key factor in controlling marine P burial, and thus the global oxygen cycle.

    • Mingyu Zhao
    • , Shuang Zhang
    •  & Noah Planavsky

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Observations of global ocean heat content during 2005–2015 have shown a strong hemispheric asymmetry, and the southern hemisphere accounts 92% of the total heat gain. Here, the authors show that the rate of observed global ocean warming is consistent with a forced symmetric climate change signal and an asymmetric climate variation for this period.

    • Saurabh Rathore
    • , Nathaniel L. Bindoff
    •  & Ming Feng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It is unclear whether rapid climate change will alter the effectiveness of marine reserves. Here Graham et al. use a 20-year time-series from the Seychelles to show that marine reserves may not prevent climate-driven shifts in community composition, and that ecological responses to reserves are substantially altered.

    • Nicholas A. J. Graham
    • , James P. W. Robinson
    •  & Shaun K. Wilson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The non-linear interaction between tide and non-tidal residual impacts current and future extreme water levels. Here, based on 620 gauge records, the authors find a large non-linear interaction in the US East Coast, North Sea and parts of southern Japan, that results in a reduction of extreme sea levels.

    • Arne Arns
    • , Thomas Wahl
    •  & Jürgen Jensen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Global ocean circulation overturns and starts anew in the North Atlantic, propagating climate signals to the rest of the oceans. Using drifter data, Zou and colleagues re-map the spreading pattern for one of the deep water masses and show the impact of mesoscale processes on that pattern.

    • Sijia Zou
    • , Amy Bower
    •  & Xiaobiao Xu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Global environmental changes threaten many food-producing sectors, including aquaculture. Here the authors show that countries most vulnerable to climate change will probably face the highest antimicrobial resistance in aquaculture-related bacteria, and that infected aquatic animals have higher mortality at warmer temperatures.

    • Miriam Reverter
    • , Samira Sarter
    •  & Rodolphe E. Gozlan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Marine heatwaves are threatening ocean ecosystems with increasing frequency, but their seasonal drivers are unknown. Here, the authors determine that summertime blobs of warm temperature anomalies in the Pacific occur as a result of prolonged weakening in the North Pacific High-Pressure System.

    • Dillon J. Amaya
    • , Arthur J. Miller
    •  & Yu Kosaka

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Estuaries are diverse and important aquatic ecosystems, yet we lack information on their response to climate change. Here, the authors show that east Australian estuaries are warming and acidifying faster than predicted by ocean or atmospheric models; a trend that is magnified in shallow estuaries.

    • Elliot Scanes
    • , Peter R. Scanes
    •  & Pauline M. Ross

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Corals have evolved as finely tuned light collectors. Here, the authors report on the 3D printing of coral-inspired biomaterials, that mimic the coral-algal symbiosis; these bionic corals lead to dense microalgal growth and can find applications in algal biotechnology and applied coral science.

    • Daniel Wangpraseurt
    • , Shangting You
    •  & Silvia Vignolini

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The North Atlantic current has been suspected to trigger intrusions of temperate marine species in the Arctic. Here, Oziel and colleagues reveal the link between the poleward intrusion of the temperate coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi and the North Atlantic current, showing evidence for bio-advection as an important mechanism.

    • L. Oziel
    • , A. Baudena
    •  & M. Babin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Global atmospheric CO2 varies between glacial–interglacial cycles. Here, the authors study these changes using Si records and how the Si flux and ocean circulation changes controlled the global Si distribution across the last deglaciation, based on high-resolution Si-isotope records from the Indian Sector Southern Ocean.

    • M. Dumont
    • , L. Pichevin
    •  & R. Ganeshram

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Coastal pollution degrades ecosystems, but long term impacts are unknown in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Using a 333 year record of coral skeleton nitrogen isotopes, Erler and colleagues show that increasing nutrient inputs since European settlement have led to unexpected feedback responses.

    • Dirk V. Erler
    • , Hanieh Tohidi Farid
    •  & Janice M. Lough

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In this study, the authors show that water flowing through thawed soils below the tundra surface (supra-permafrost groundwater) can be a major source of dissolved organic matter (DOM) to Arctic coastal waters during the summer. This DOM contains leachates from old soil carbon stocks, including potential contributions from thawing permafrost.

    • Craig T. Connolly
    • , M. Bayani Cardenas
    •  & James W. McClelland

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors here combine a range of geophysical data, numerical modelling and borehole data to present a high resolution map of an offshore freshened groundwater system in the Canterbury Bight, New Zealand. The study shows the extensions of the offshore freshened groundwater system to be controlled by high permeability shelf sediments, buried paleochannels and onshore rivers.

    • Aaron Micallef
    • , Mark Person
    •  & Ashwani Kumar Tiwari

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Southern Ocean is an important sink of carbon via the biological pump. Here authors run high-resolution physical/biogeochemical simulations of an open-Southern Ocean ecosystem forced with a realistic seasonal cycle and confirm that (sub)mesoscale iron transport across the mixing-layer base sustains primary productivity.

    • Takaya Uchida
    • , Dhruv Balwada
    •  & Marina Lévy

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Eddies are common ocean features that isolate large swaths of seawater, but it is unclear how they influence productivity of phytoplankton trapped inside. Here Ellwood and colleagues use stable and radiogenic isotopes to characterize a Southern Ocean eddy, finding vanishingly low iron concentrations that drive low productivity across the region.

    • Michael J. Ellwood
    • , Robert F. Strzepek
    •  & Philip W. Boyd

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Biogeographic patterns of genetic diversity are poorly documented, especially for fish species. Here the authors show that (mitochondrial) genetic diversity has global spatial organization patterns with different environmental drivers for marine and freshwater fishes, where genetic diversity is only partly congruent with species richness.

    • Stéphanie Manel
    • , Pierre-Edouard Guerin
    •  & Loïc Pellissier

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The freshwater content of the Beaufort Gyre in the Western Arctic Ocean has increased in response to almost two decades of persistent anti-cyclonic winds. Here, the authors found that dramatic loss of sea ice and acceleration of surface currents after 2007 led to a net annual wind energy input to the Beaufort Gyre, and anticipate that continued sea ice decline will lead to an increasingly energetic Beaufort Gyre.

    • Thomas W. K. Armitage
    • , Georgy E. Manucharyan
    •  & Andrew F. Thompson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    What drives hydroclimate changes in tropical regions is not well known. Here, the authors present a 12,000 year long precipitation record from Guetemala which shows that exceeding a threshold in sea surface temperatures caused Central American rainfall to change from a dry to an active convective regime around 9000 years ago.

    • Amos Winter
    • , Davide Zanchettin
    •  & Carla Taricco

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Tropical cyclones can cause severe damage, in particular through flooding of coastal areas. Here, the authors show that in addition to known impacts, tropical cyclone rainbands can cause meteotsunami waves that can contribute significantly to the total water levels and hence flooding risks.

    • Luming Shi
    • , Maitane Olabarrieta
    •  & John C. Warner

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