Recent  

Investigation of free sea level oscillations is important for understanding of specifics of oceanographic processes and for their identification. Based on numerical experiments with the 3-D INMOM hydrodynamic model, we demonstrated that after cessation of atmospheric forcing, the water masses of the Baltic Sea return to equilibrium state as in the form of barotropic progressive–standing waves with 13–44 h periods, as in the form of baroclinic low-frequency waves with periods of 89 and 358 d.

Observations of transient tracer distribution provide essential information on ocean ventilation. The use of several commonly used transient traces is limited as their atmospheric mole fractions do not monotonically change. Here we explore new potential oceanic transient tracers with an analytical system that simultaneously measures a large range of compounds. Combined with the known atmospheric history and seawater solubility, we discuss the utility of selected HCFCs, HFCs, and PFCs as tracers.

An analysis of simulated German Bight surface currents reveals linear structures along which water bodies of different origin converge. Identification of these non-stationary structures supports the interpretation of monitoring data; observations gathered at stations that are neighbouring but separated by a line of convergence may substantially differ. The analysis could also be helpful for organizing field campaigns such that new observations do not just duplicate information already available.

The various currents in the southwestern Pacific Ocean contribute to the redistribution of waters from the subtropical gyre equatorward and poleward. The drivers of their interannual variability are not completely understood but are usually thought to be related to well-known climate modes of variability. Here, we suggest that oceanic chaotic variability alone, which is by definition unpredictable, explains the majority of this interannual variability south of 20° S.

We have characterized the major water masses in the Atlantic Ocean based on the properties found in their formation areas using six properties taken from the GLODAPv2 data product, including both conservative (conservative temperature and absolute salinity) and non-conservative (oxygen, silicate, phosphate and nitrate) properties. The distributions of the water masses are estimated by using the optimum multi-parameter (OMP) model, and we have mapped the distributions of the water masses.

The Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR) is one of the high-priority satellite missions of the Copernicus program within the European Space Agency. It is designed to respond to the European Union Arctic policy. Its channels, incidence angle, precisions, and spatial resolutions have been selected to observe the Arctic Ocean with the recommendations expressed by the user communities. In this note, we present the sensitivity analysis that has led to the choice of the CIMR channels.

The powerful jets of currents induced by vessels' propellers in ports often cause areas of erosion and deposition, strongly impacting the port's operability. The capacity to fully understand and predict these complex dynamics would be a fundamental help for port operators in order to optimize and efficiently plan port management and seabed maintenance. In the present work, we show how this is possible using high-resolution modeling of hydrodynamics and sediment transport.

Plastic pollution is a major environmental issue affecting the oceans. The number of floating and sedimented pieces has been quantified by several studies. But their abundance in the water column remains mostly unknown. To fill this gap we model the dynamics of a particular type of particle, rigid microplastics sinking rapidly in open sea in the Mediterranean. We find they represent a small but appreciable fraction of the total sea plastic and discuss characteristics of their sinking motion.

In this study, we found that the interannual subsurface temperature and salinity variability of the Bay of Bengal (BoB) shows a remarkable delayed correlation with the Indian Ocean Dipole mode. We employed a regional model and determined the contributions of the coastal Kelvin waves and the westward-moving Rossby waves to this correlation. An analysis of the salinity budget revealed that the advection terms dominate the subsurface salinity changes in the BoB.

Marine electromagnetic (EM) signals largely depend on three factors: the direction and speed of ocean flow, the strength of Earth’s main magnetic field, and seawater’s electrical conductivity (which depends on the local temperature and salinity). Because of this, there is interest in using marine EM signals to monitor and study ocean circulation. Our study investigates using voltage data from retired seafloor telecommunication cables in the Pacific Ocean to monitor large-scale flows.

The Arctic Ocean is a major sink for heat and salt for the global ocean. Ocean mixing contributes to this sink by mixing the Atlantic and Pacific waters with surrounding waters. We investigate the drivers of ocean mixing north of Svalbard based on observations collected during two research cruises in 2018 as part of the Nansen Legacy project. We found that wind and tidal forcing are the main drivers and that 1 % of the Atlantic Water heat loss can be attributed to vertical turbulent mixing.