The present study defines new interpolation functions for hydrological data. These functions are applied to generate climatological maps of temperature-salinity distribution with a 25m depth interval and a 30km space interval (MEDTRANS data set). The MEDTRANS climatology gives more details of the distribution of water characteristics in the subtropical northeastern Atlantic than other alternative climatologies and is able to reproduce a number of dynamic features described in the literature.

Phytoplankton contribute to the regulation of the Earth's climate. In this study, we investigated the factors which affect the amount of nitrogen that phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean are able to use for their growth. We collected data during a winter cruise and a summer cruise. We found that in winter, day light and the amount of ammonium (a nitrogenous nutrient) were the two most important factors. In summer, it seems that the influx of nutrients (such as iron) plays a major role.

This study established a splitting strategy that could separate multinuclear eddies into mononuclear eddies. As the values of eddy parameters (e.g. SLA, geostrophic potential vorticity, Okubo–Weiss parameter) are similar to basins in a map, the natural divisions of the basins are the watersheds between them. It can also be applied to automatic identification of troughs and ridges from weather charts. We denoted it the Universal Splitting Technology for Circulations (USTC) method.

The accuracy of primary satellite ocean color data products from MODIS on-board Aqua and the VIIRS is investigated using in situ measurements from the ocean color component of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET-OC). Results from the comparison of normalized water-leaving radiance LWN indicate biases of a few percent between satellite-derived and in situ data at the center wavelengths relevant for the determination of chlorophyll-a concentration.

Over the Yermak Plateau northwest of Svalbard there is substantial energy conversion from barotropic to internal tides. Internal tides are trapped along the topography. An approximate local conversion-to-dissipation balance is found over shallows and also in the deep part of the sloping flanks. Dissipation of tidal energy can be a significant contributor to turbulent mixing and cooling of the Atlantic layer in the Arctic Ocean.

Here, we investigated the seasonal variability of subsurface high-salinity water (SHSW) in the northern South China Sea (SCS) and its relationship with the North Equatorial Current-Kuroshio circulation system. Results give new insight into water exchange through the Luzon Strait (LS). The changes in western Pacific large-scale circulation modulate the water exchange in the LS, and thus influence the SHSW in the interior SCS basin.

The oceans are a key source of a number of atmospherically important volatile gases. The accurate and robust determination of trace gases in seawater is a significant analytical challenge. Here we describe a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer based purge and trap system that was developed for the fully automated analysis of dissolved very short-lived species (VSLS) in seawater sampled from a research ship.