Sunke Schmidtko

Expansion of oxygen minimum zones may reduce available habitat for tropical pelagic fishes

Climate model predictions1, 2 and observations3, 4 reveal regional declines in oceanic dissolved oxygen, which are probably influenced by global warming5. Studies indicate ongoing dissolved oxygen depletion and vertical expansion of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) in the tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean6, 7. OMZ shoaling may restrict the usable habitat of billfishes and tunas to a narrow surface layer8, 9. We report a decrease in the upper ocean layer exceeding 3.5 ml l−1 dissolved oxygen at a rate of ≤1 m yr−1 in the tropical northeast Atlantic (0–25° N, 12–30° W), amounting to an annual habitat loss of ~5.95×1013 m3, or 15% for the period 1960–2010. Habitat compression and associated potential habitat loss was validated using electronic tagging data from 47 blue marlin. This phenomenon increases vulnerability to surface fishing gear for billfishes and tunas8, 9, and may be associated with a 10–50% worldwide decline of pelagic predator diversity10. Further expansion of the Atlantic OMZ along with overfishing may threaten the sustainability of these valuable pelagic fisheries and marine ecosystems.

Multidecadal warming of Antarctic waters

Decadal trends in the properties of seawater adjacent to Antarctica are poorly known, and the mechanisms responsible for such changes are uncertain. Antarctic ice sheet mass loss is largely driven by ice shelf basal melt, which is influenced by ocean-ice interactions and has been correlated with Antarctic Continental Shelf Bottom Water (ASBW) temperature. We document the spatial distribution of long-term large-scale trends in temperature, salinity, and core depth over the Antarctic continental shelf and slope. Warming at the seabed in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas is linked to increased heat content and to a shoaling of the mid-depth temperature maximum over the continental slope, allowing warmer, saltier water greater access to the shelf in recent years. Regions of ASBW warming are those exhibiting increased ice shelf melt. Seawater temperature around Antarctica is rising as more warmer, deeper water moves toward the surface. [Also see Perspective by Gille] Bringing up the problem of ice shelf melting Warm water intruding from below is heating up the ocean that covers the continental shelf of Antarctica. Schmidtko et al. report that Circumpolar Deep Water has been warming and moving further up onto the shelf around Antarctica for the past 40 years, causing higher rates of ice sheet melting (see the Perspective by Gille). These observations need to be taken into account when considering the potential for irreversible retreat of parts of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Science, this issue p. 1227; see also p. 1180

Decline in global oceanic oxygen content during the past five decades

Ocean models predict a decline in the dissolved oxygen inventory of the global ocean of one to seven per cent by the year 2100, caused by a combination of a warming-induced decline in oxygen solubility and reduced ventilation of the deep ocean. It is thought that such a decline in the oceanic oxygen content could affect ocean nutrient cycles and the marine habitat, with potentially detrimental consequences for fisheries and coastal economies. Regional observational data indicate a continuous decrease in oceanic dissolved oxygen concentrations in most regions of the global ocean, with an increase reported in a few limited areas, varying by study. Prior work attempting to resolve variations in dissolved oxygen concentrations at the global scale reported a global oxygen loss of 550 ± 130 teramoles (1012 mol) per decade between 100 and 1,000 metres depth based on a comparison of data from the 1970s and 1990s. Here we provide a quantitative assessment of the entire ocean oxygen inventory by analysing dissolved oxygen and supporting data for the complete oceanic water column over the past 50 years. We find that the global oceanic oxygen content of 227.4 ± 1.1 petamoles (1015 mol) has decreased by more than two per cent (4.8 ± 2.1 petamoles) since 1960, with large variations in oxygen loss in different ocean basins and at different depths. We suggest that changes in the upper water column are mostly due to a warming-induced decrease in solubility and biological consumption. Changes in the deeper ocean may have their origin in basin-scale multi-decadal variability, oceanic overturning slow-down and a potential increase in biological consumption.

Winter to summer oceanographic observations in the Arctic Ocean north of Svalbard

Oceanographic observations from the Eurasian Basin north of Svalbard collected between January and June 2015 from the N-ICE2015 drifting expedition are presented. The unique winter observations are a key contribution to existing climatologies of the Arctic Ocean, and show a ∼100m deep winter mixed layer likely due to high sea ice growth rates in local leads. Current observations for the upper ∼200m show mostly a barotropic flow, enhanced over the shallow Yermak Plateau. The two branches of inflowing Atlantic Water are partly captured, confirming that the outer Yermak Branch follows the perimeter of the plateau, and the inner Svalbard Branch the coast. Atlantic Water observed to be warmer and shallower than in the climatology, is found directly below the mixed layer down to 800m depth, and is warmest along the slope, while properties inside the basin are quite homogeneous. From late May onwards, the drift was continually close to the ice edge and a thinner surface mixed layer and shallower Atlantic Water coincided with significant sea ice melt being observed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Relative contributions of temperature and salinity to seasonal mixed layer density changes and horizontal density gradients

Temperature and salinity both contribute to ocean density, including its seasonal cycle and spatial patterns in the mixed layer. Temperature and salinity profiles from the Argo Program allow construction and analysis of a global, monthly, mixed layer climatology. Temperature changes dominate the seasonal cycle of mixed layer density in most regions, but salinity changes are dominant in the tropical warm pools, Arctic, and Antarctic. Under the Intertropical Convergence Zone, temperature and salinity work in concert to increase seasonal stratification, but the seasonal density changes there are weak because the temperature and salinity changes are small. In the eastern subtropics, seasonal salinity changes partly compensate those in temperature and reduce seasonal mixed layer density changes. Besides a hemispheric seasonal reversal, the times of maximum and minimum mixed layer density exhibit regional variations. For instance, the equatorial region is more closely aligned with Southern Hemisphere timing, and much of the North Indian Ocean has a minimum density in May and June. Outside of the tropics, the maximum mixed layer density occurs later in the winter toward the poles, and the minimum earlier in the summer. Finally, at the times of maximum mixed layer density, some of the ocean has horizontal temperature and salinity gradients that work against each other to reduce the horizontal density gradient. However, on the equatorial sides of the subtropical salinity maxima, temperature and salinity gradients reinforce each other, increasing the density gradients there. Density gradients are generally stronger where either salinity or temperature gradients are dominant influences.

Multidecadal Warming and Shoaling of Antarctic Intermediate Water

Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) is a dominant Southern Hemisphere water mass that spreads from its formation regions just north of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) to at least 20°S in all oceans. This study uses an isopycnal climatology constructed from Argo conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD) profile data to define the current state of the AAIW salinity minimum (its core) and thence compute anomalies of AAIW core pressure, potential temperature, salinity, and potential density since the mid-1970s from ship-based CTD profiles. The results are used to calculate maps of temporal property trends at the AAIW core, where statistically significant strong circumpolar shoaling (30–50 dbar decade−1), warming (0.05°–0.15°C decade−1), and density reductions [up to −0.03 (kg m−3) decade−1] are found. These trends are strongest just north of the ACC in the southeast Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and decrease equatorward. Salinity trends are generally small, with their sign varying regionally. Bottle data are used to extend the AAIW core potential temperature anomaly analysis back to 1925 in the Atlantic and to ~1960 elsewhere. The modern warm AAIW core conditions appear largely unprecedented in the historical record: biennially and zonally binned median AAIW core potential temperatures within each ocean basin are, with the notable exception of the subtropical South Atlantic in the 1950s–70s, 0.2–1°C colder than modern values. Zonally averaged sea surface temperature anomalies around the AAIW formation latitudes in each ocean and sectoral southern annular mode indices are used to put the AAIW core property trends and variations into context.

Ocean processes at the Antarctic continental slope

The Antarctic continental shelves and slopes occupy relatively small areas, but, nevertheless, are important for global climate, biogeochemical cycling and ecosystem functioning. Processes of water mass transformation through sea ice formation/melting and ocean–atmosphere interaction are key to the formation of deep and bottom waters as well as determining the heat flux beneath ice shelves. Climate models, however, struggle to capture these physical processes and are unable to reproduce water mass properties of the region. Dynamics at the continental slope are key for correctly modelling climate, yet their small spatial scale presents challenges both for ocean modelling and for observational studies. Cross-slope exchange processes are also vital for the flux of nutrients such as iron from the continental shelf into the mixed layer of the Southern Ocean. An iron-cycling model embedded in an eddy-permitting ocean model reveals the importance of sedimentary iron in fertilizing parts of the Southern Ocean. Ocean gliders play a key role in improving our ability to observe and understand these small-scale processes at the continental shelf break. The Gliders: Excellent New Tools for Observing the Ocean (GENTOO) project deployed three Seagliders for up to two months in early 2012 to sample the water to the east of the Antarctic Peninsula in unprecedented temporal and spatial detail. The glider data resolve small-scale exchange processes across the shelf-break front (the Antarctic Slope Front) and the fronts biogeochemical signature. GENTOO demonstrated the capability of ocean gliders to play a key role in a future multi-disciplinary Southern Ocean observing system.

The ocean mixed-layer under Southern Ocean sea-ice: Seasonal cycle and forcing

The oceanic mixed-layer is the gateway for the exchanges between the atmosphere and the ocean; in this layer all hydrographic ocean properties are set for months to millennia. A vast area of the Southern Ocean is seasonally capped by sea-ice, which alters the characteristics of the ocean mixed-layer. The interaction between the ocean mixed-layer and sea-ice plays a key role for water-mass transformation, the carbon cycle, sea-ice dynamics, and ultimately for the climate as a whole. However, the structure and characteristics of the under-ice mixed-layer are poorly understood due to the sparseness of in-situ observations and measurements. In this study, we combine distinct sources of observations to overcome this lack in our understanding of the Polar Regions. Working with Elephant Seal-derived observations, ship-based and Argo float observations, we describe the seasonal cycle of the ocean mixed-layer characteristics and stability of the ocean mixed-layer over the Southern Ocean and specifically under sea-ice. Mixed-layer heat and freshwater budgets are used to investigate the main forcing mechanisms of the mixed-layer seasonal cycle. The seasonal variability of sea surface salinity and temperature are primarily driven by surface processes, dominated by sea-ice freshwater flux for the salt budget, and by air-sea flux for the heat budget. Ekman advection, vertical diffusivity and vertical entrainment play only secondary roles.Our results suggest that changes in regional sea-ice distribution and annual duration, as currently observed, widely affect the buoyancy budget of the underlying mixed-layer, and impact large-scale water-mass formation and transformation with far reaching consequences for ocean ventilation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Spring coccolithophore production and dispersion in the temperate eastern North Atlantic Ocean

Production and dispersion of coccolithophores are assessed within their ecologic and hydrographic context across enhanced spring chlorophyll production in the surface eastern North Atlantic. Within a 4 day period from 12 to 16 March 2004, a N-S transect from 47 degrees N to 33 degrees N was sampled along 20 degrees W. Water samples from defined depths down to 200 m were analyzed for coccolithophores from 0.45 mu m polycarbonate filters by scanning electron microscopy. At 47 degrees N coccolithophores flourished when euphotic conditions allowed new production at deep mixing, low temperatures, and high nutrient concentrations. Emiliania huxleyi flourished at high turbulence during an early stage of the phytoplankton succession and contributed half of the total coccolithophore assemblage, with up to 150 x 10(3) cells L(-1) and up to 12 x 10(9) cells m(-2) when integrated over the upper 200 m of the water column. Maximum chlorophyll concentrations occurred just north of the Azores Front, at 37 degrees N-39 degrees N, at comparatively low numbers of coccolithophores. To the south, at 35 degrees N-33 degrees N, coccolithophores were abundant within calm and stratified Subtropical Mode Waters, and E. huxleyi was the dominant species again. Although the cell densities of coccolithophores observed here remained below those typical of plankton blooms visible from satellite images, the depth-integrated total mass makes them significant producers of calcite and contributors to the total carbon sedimentation at a much wider range of ecological conditions during late winter and early spring than hitherto assumed.

The North Pacific Oxygen Uptake Rates over the Past Half Century

The transport of dissolved oxygen (O2) from the surface ocean into the interior is a critical process sustaining aerobic life in mesopelagic ecosystems, but its rates and sensitivity to climate variations are poorly understood. Using a circulation model constrained to historical variability by assimilation of observations, we show that the North Pacific thermocline effectively takes up O2 primarily by expanding the area through which O2-rich mixed layer water is detrained into the thermocline. The outcrop area during the critical winter season varies in concert with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). When the central North Pacific Ocean is in a cold phase, the winter outcrop window for the Central Mode Water class (CMW; a neutral density range of γ = 25.6 - 26.6) expands southward allowing more O2-rich surface water to enter the ocean’s interior. An increase in volume flux of water to the CMW density class is partly compensated by a reduced supply to the shallower densities of Subtropical Mode Water (γ = 24.0 - 25.5). The thermocline has become better oxygenated since the 1980s due partly to strong O2 uptake. Positive O2 anomalies appear first near the outcrop and subsequently downstream in the subtropical gyre. In contrast to the O2 variations within the ventilated thermocline, observed O2 in Intermediate Water (density range of γ = 26.7 – 27.2) shows a declining trend over the past half-century, a trend not explained by the open ocean water mass formation rate.