Marine Science

Pointing toward a much-needed future reservoir of freshwater for the island of Hawai'i in the face of climate-driven drought, electromagnetic images of the island have revealed multilayered basalt, ash and soil formations that serve as a previously unknown conduit to move freshwater offshore to the submarine flank of the island.

Severe marine heatwaves, like 2015's Pacific "blob," are far more likely to occur now than before human-induced global warming began, according to a new study.

Using soundwaves cast from seafloor earthquakes, researchers demonstrate a new take on a largely abandoned way to measure ocean warming worldwide - seismic ocean thermometry.

For the last decade, increases in the Arctic Ocean's primary production have been driven by an increased abundance of phytoplankton rather than sea ice loss, indicating an influx of new nutrients into the region's relatively nutrient-deprived waters, researchers report.

Ice sheet losses from Greenland and Antarctica have outpaced snow accumulation and contributed approximately 14 millimeters to sea level rise over 16 years (2003 to 2019), a new analysis of data from NASA's laser-shooting satellites has revealed.

Microplastic particles entering the sea surface were thought to settle to the seafloor directly below them, but now, a new study reveals that slow-moving currents near the bottom of the ocean direct the flow of plastics, creating microplastic hotpots in sediments of the deep sea.

In the future's warmer climate, large, abrupt and frequent changes in ocean ventilation may be more likely than currently assumed, according to a new study.

Helping fill a gap in the understanding of the biological carbon pump -- a major climate regulator -- a new study shows that fragmentation of large organic particles into small ones accounts for roughly half of particle loss in the ocean, making it perhaps the most important process controlling the sequestration of sinking organic carbon in the oceans.

Contradicting previous studies that suggest global warming will weaken ocean circulation, especially in tropical waters, a new study reports that global ocean circulation has accelerated over the past twenty years, and in tropical waters in particular. This is due to a near 2%-per-decade rise in wind speeds, the study's authors say, a phenomenon that has intensified.