Oceanography Archives

Proposed explanations to Titan’s large k2 as observed by Cassini. The schematic of Titan’s interior model has been extracted from de Kleer et al. (2019). -- astro-ph.EP

Icy Worlds, Status Report, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Resonant Stratification In Titan’s Global Ocean

by Keith CowingDecember 11, 2023December 11, 2023

Titan’s ice shell floats on top of a global ocean revealed by the large tidal Love number k2=0.616±0.067 registered by Cassini. The Cassini observation exceeds the predicted k2 by one […]

Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Video, Audio, Webcasts, Podcasts, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Video: Ocean World Exploration: Seafloor Mapping In 60 Seconds

by Keith CowingDecember 11, 2023December 11, 2023

Editor’s note: we’re sending two missions to the Jovian System to study ice-covered ocean worlds – worlds that may contain life. How we explore and chart Earth’s oceans and its […]

Illustration of the modeling combination between a Genome-Scale Model (GSM), i.e., Prochlorococcus MED4 GSM, and an Earth Systems Model (ESM), i.e., NEMO-PISCES, and comparison between growth rates estimated from ESM and GSM. a |From a metabolic network, we defined a solution space embedding all possible fluxes that go through each network reaction. These fluxes satisfy the quasi-steady states assumption and other thermodynamic constraints defined in the GSM. This set of constraints (C1) is defined as biotic constraints, and they affect inner reactions, as well as exchange reactions responsible for the uptake or secretion of nutrients, and a biomass reaction simulating the growth of the organism (color scale similar to panel d., see Appendix 1 for details). b |Earth Systems Models predict global ocean biogeochemistry across space and time. Here the ESM provides uptake fluxes of nutrients for each grid point for each modeled organism. In our framework, these uptake values are used as a set of constraints (C2) on the exchange reactions of the GSM. These are defined as the set of abiotic constraints that are applied in the model. c |C1 and C2 are combined to constrain further exchanged metabolite fluxes at each grid point of the global ocean. As a result, we can estimate the organismal growth rate and all feasible inner fluxes corresponding to a given environment as proposed by the ESM. d |Description of growth rates (h−1) at 5 m depth estimated from NEMO-PISCES picophytoplankton (top) and Prochlorococcus MED4 GSM (bottom). The dashed line shows the transect described in the following panel. e |Distribution of respective growth rates across latitudes and depths at longitude -24o. Grey areas indicate latitudes that do not allow Prochlorococcus MED4 growth because of thermal limits; the GSM does not consider them. The relationship between growth rates across space (above 500 m) and time (i.e., without gray areas) shows R2:0.80 and slope: 0.787 (see Extended Fig. 11). -- biorxiv.org

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Modeling Genome-scale Knowledge In Earth’s Global Ocean

by Keith CowingDecember 4, 2023December 3, 2023

Editor’s note: As we make plans to do orbital and surface sorties on other worlds searching for life it is certainly useful to use Earth and its diverse biota as […]

Methane clathrate (white, ice-like material) under a rock from the seafloor of the northern Gulf of Mexico. Deposits such as these demonstrate that methane and other gases cross the seafloor and enter the ocean. Photo credit: NOAA

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

From Seafloor To Space: New Bacterial Proteins Shine Light On Climate and Astrobiology

by Keith CowingNovember 17, 2023November 17, 2023

Gigatons of greenhouse gas are trapped under the seafloor, and that’s a good thing. Around the coasts of the continents, where slopes sink down into the sea, tiny cages of […]

The sulfate poor waters of Lake Superior could provide insights on the biochemistry of Earth's early ocean. CREDIT Alexandra Phillips

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Research In Lake Superior Reveals How Sulfur Might Have Cycled In Earth’s Ancient Oceans

by Keith CowingNovember 17, 2023November 17, 2023

Geochemist Alexandra Phillips has sulfur on her mind. The yellow element is a vital macronutrient, and she’s trying to understand how it cycles through the environment. Specifically, she’s curious about […]

This proof-of-concept device “smells” seawater by trapping dissolved compounds that sponges release. CREDIT Adapted from ACS Central Science 2023, DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.3c00661

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: I-SMEL Device Smells Seawater To Detect Novel Molecules

by Keith CowingNovember 8, 2023November 8, 2023

Under the ocean’s surface, marine organisms are constantly releasing invisible molecules. Some of the chemical clues reveal which creatures are nearby, while others could be used someday as medications. Now, […]

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Press Release

Novel Bacterial Proteins From Seafloor Shine Light On Climate And Astrobiology

by Keith CowingSeptember 27, 2023September 27, 2023

Gigatons of greenhouse gas are trapped under the seafloor, and that’s a good thing. Around the coasts of the continents, where slopes sink down into the sea, tiny cages of […]

Microeukaryotic cells captured with epifluorescence (DAPI filter) from FLP uptake experiments conducted in this study. All images are derived from shipboard experiments and scale bars are located within each panel. (a-c) Eukaryotic cells from grazing experiments conducted at vent site X-18. The cell in panel (a) contained a consumed FLP cell. Imaged cells from (d) Mustard Stand, (e) Shrimpocalypse, and (f) the plume at Von Damm. Two FLP cells are imaged inside the eukaryotic cell in (f). -- biorxiv.org

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report

Microbial Eukaryotic Predation Pressure And Biomass At Deep-sea hydrothermal Vents: Implications For Deep-sea Carbon Cycling

by Keith CowingAugust 18, 2023August 18, 2023

Deep-sea hydrothermal vent geochemistry shapes the foundation of the microbial food web by fueling chemolithoautotrophic microbial activity. Microbial eukaryotes (or protists) play a critical role in hydrothermal vent food webs […]

A large cluster of tubeworms at Fava Flow Suburbs, a site on the East Pacific Rise 2,500 meters deep. Experiments testing the theory of species dispersal through cracks in the Earth's crust were performed in this area. CREDIT Schmidt Ocean Institute

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

A New Ecosystem Has Been Discovered Underneath Oceanic Hydrothermal Vents

by Keith CowingAugust 9, 2023August 9, 2023

A new ecosystem has been discovered in volcanic cavities beneath hydrothermal vents at a well-studied undersea volcano on the East Pacific Rise off Central America.

This image, acquired on April 8, 2011, with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments on NASA’s Terra satellite, shows Saharan dust over the Bay of Biscay. A phytoplankton bloom makes the water appear bright green and blue. Sediment is likely contributing to some of the color, especially in coastal areas. Credits: NASA Earth Observatory image by Wanmei Liang, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Desert Worlds, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Plant Biology, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

How Desert Dust Nourishes The Growth Of Phytoplankton In Earth’s Oceans

by Keith CowingJuly 10, 2023August 23, 2025

For the past few decades, scientists have been observing natural ocean fertilization events — episodes when plumes of volcanic ash, glacial flour, wildfire soot, and desert dust blow out onto […]