OS
Ocean Sciences

oceanography

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

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

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 …[Read More]

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

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

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?

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

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–atmosphere …[Read More]