oceanography

An archipelago as a natural laboratory: Pioneering ocean monitoring network in the Canary Islands

David Curbelo-Hernández September 25, 2026

The Canary Islands are often shown as a group of small dots in the vast Atlantic Ocean. However, across only a few tens of kilometres, their surrounding waters can shift from sheltered coastal bays and energetic inter-island channels to the open subtropical ocean. This strong environmental contrast makes the archipelago an ideal natural laboratory for observing how the ocean varies and responds to ...[Read More]

Can the Ocean Explain Why Climate Models Struggle with the Indian Monsoon?

Sankar Prasad Lahiri July 9, 2026

Few climate phenomena affect as many people as the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM). Between June and September, it delivers most of the annual rainfall over the Indian subcontinent, supporting agriculture, water resources, and livelihoods for more than a billion people. Yet predicting how the monsoon will respond to climate change remains a major scientific challenge because it is shaped by complex in ...[Read More]

Beyond wind speed: what really controls air-sea gas exchange?

Yuanxu Dong April 23, 2026

When we think about what drives air-sea gas exchange (such as CO2), wind usually gets all the credit. Strong winds stir the surface, enhance turbulence, and speed up gas transfer. But a new study in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics shows there is more to the story: CO2 exchange does not just follow the wind, it is also directly affected by surface conditions (Fig. 1). Using the eddy covariance te ...[Read More]

New Unified Interface for Existing Ocean Carbonate Chemistry Data Products

Li-Qing Jiang April 16, 2026

Here is a great resource for anyone working on ocean carbon: Jiang et al. (2026) compiled a comprehensive synthesis of data products for ocean carbonate chemistry — all in one place for you! The paper provides a comprehensive synthesis of 68 existing ocean carbonate chemistry data products and data product sets, including: 🛳️ Cruise-based Compilations 📈 Time-series Datasets 🗂️ Gap-filled Observati ...[Read More]

How atmospheric circulation patterns high above the Southern Ocean influence the deepest layers of the global ocean

Matthis Auger March 27, 2026

The ocean surrounding Antarctica plays a crucial role in the climate system. Along parts of the Antarctic coast, very cold and salty water becomes dense enough to sink all the way to the ocean floor. This process forms Antarctic Bottom Water: the deepest water mass in the global ocean, representing about 40% of its total volume. As this dense water sinks into the abyss, it helps trap heat and carb ...[Read More]

A synergy of observations: Filling the gaps in an ocean colour chlorophyll-a record

Daniel J. Ford February 20, 2026

Chlorophyll-a (chl-a), as the dominant photosynthetic pigment within phytoplankton, provides an indication of the phytoplankton biomass and are essential for understanding global and regional changes in primary production in the oceans. Multiple ocean colour satellites have unlocked routine synoptical scale observations of chl-a which now extends from 1997 to the present day. Differing numbers of ...[Read More]

A Record-Breaking Indian Ocean Dipole: What Happened in 2021–2022?

Ankur Srivastava February 5, 2026

The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is generally considered a seasonal mode of variability, developing and decaying within a single year. During 2021–2022, however, negative IOD conditions persisted for approximately 19 months (Figure 1, top left), making this event the longest—and among the strongest—observed since reliable records began. This unusual persistence highlights important aspects of ocean–a ...[Read More]

How do mesoscale eddies modulate CO2 fluxes in the Southern Ocean?

Mariana Salinas Matus January 23, 2026

Mesoscale eddies and Southern Ocean carbon sink The Southern Ocean takes up more than a quarter of the anthropogenic CO₂. Its powerful westerly winds, deep overturning circulation, and intense mixing make it a major player in Earth’s climate system. But beneath this large-scale picture lies a world of swirling, dynamic structures that constantly reshape the ocean’s physical and biogeochemical prop ...[Read More]

Where Freshwater Meets the Fjord: Researching Carbon in a Changing Arctic

Maurie Keppens September 9, 2025

We sat down with Henry Henson, a PhD student at Aarhus University, whose path led from an early love of nature to studying the frontlines of climate change in the Arctic. Henry works with both Aarhus University’s Arctic Research Centre and the Greenland Climate Research Centre in Nuuk, exploring how Greenland’s coastal oceans absorb CO2 and how a warming, freshening Arctic is transforming these fr ...[Read More]

The Untapped Potential of Citizen Science Onboard Expedition Cruise Vessels

Holly Stainton July 11, 2025

Scientific work can be done not only by professional scientists but also by the general public, often in collaboration with scientific institutions. At HX Expeditions, citizens have the opportunity to contribute to scientific projects on expedition cruises. Join us as we hear from Holly Stainton, the Science & Education Coordinator at MS Roald Amundsen and HX Expeditions, about her experiences ...[Read More]