Researchers Study the Fast Gulf Stream Currents
Scientists from the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) recently joined a five-day research expedition to study the role of the Gulf Stream in a critical component of the global carbon cycle.The Gulf Stream is thought to play an integral role in the oceanic carbon cycle, delivering high-nutrient, low-anthropogenic (human derived) carbon waters to the North Atlantic subpolar gyre where they sustain biological carbon drawdown and enable the uptake of large quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere.However, many unknowns remain regarding how these deep waters reach the surface, and their effect on carbon
TDI-Brooks Finalizes Report for Deepwater Atlantic Habitats II
vertical-migrating mid-water community and the benthic zone of the Richardson Reef Complex, as well as those of midwater organisms with the walls of the canyons and shallow seeps were seen.The unique oceanographic conditions in the region have a corresponding influence on the various communities. The Gulf Stream cuts through the center of the study area, causing vertical mixing in its core down to 1,000 m. This promotes a rapid translation of food to depth and nutrients to the surface, which brings elevated trophic and genetic connectivity of the components of the ecosystem. These currents are highly
NASA’s S-MODE Field Campaign Deploys to the Pacific Ocean
added. “Being part of a mission of this scale can be exciting and nerve-wracking.”Aboard another aircraft is an instrument that can image microscopic marine life in billions of colors. Resembling a metal basketball, JPL’s Portable Remote Imaging SpectroMeter (PRISM) will ride inside a Gulfstream III jet, spying phytoplankton blooms in hundreds of wavelengths ranging from ultraviolet to infrared.By tracking chlorophyll, a telltale signature of these algae, PRISM will help scientists visualize ecology interacting with ocean currents, providing exponentially more information than familiar
INTERVIEW: Rutgers University Uses Slocum Glider for Ocean Acidification Study
lot of fresh water coming in from our rivers and our estuaries, and that actually acts to reduce pH or cause the water to become more acidic nearshore.Then offshore, we have something completely opposite, where we have this warm salty water just sitting off the shelf and that's influenced from the gulf stream. And during mixing events like storms, but also during the autumn when we have these heavy wind periods, the water starts to kind of turn over and breaks up that stratification, we actually see relief of the low pH from the summer on the shelf. And so that mixing acts to really just kind of mitigate
Florida Current is the Weakest Its Been in a Century
The Florida Current, which forms the start of the Gulf Stream, has slowed over the past century and is the slowest it has been at any point in the past 110 years, a new study reveals.Researchers have developed a method of tracking the strength of near-shore ocean currents using measurements made at the coast, offering the potential to reduce one of the biggest uncertainties related to observations of climate change over the past century.“In the ocean, almost everything is connected,” said Christopher Piecuch, an assistant scientist in the Physical Oceanography Department at the Woods Hole
The Benefits of Sustainable Marine Lumber
. For instance, depending on the location, the pilings of many East Coast marina structures are coated with living organisms ranging from corals, sponges, tunicates and sea anemones which, in turn, are the natural habitats for fish including crabs, lobsters, blackfish, fluke and striped bass. Gulf Stream marinas may be providing shelter to grouper, angelfish, triggerfish and butterfly fish. Sea turtles, dolphins and even manatees can be found in the waters around Gulf Coast, Florida marinas.(Photo: Evergreen Forest Products)Marina engineering and construction considerationsFor engineers specifying
"An Epic Mission": Slocum Glider "Silbo" Circumnavigates the Atlantic Ocean
on July 18, 2019 and concluded on June 29, 2020 south of Martha’s Vineyard completing the final 6236 km trek in 348 days. During this transit Silbo spent three months flying a butterfly pattern south of Bermuda contributing data to Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS). Silbo then joined the Gulf Stream becoming the season’s first storm glider as Tropical Storm Arthur passed directly over the glider.In all, Silbo covered 22,744 km and spent roughly 1,273 days at sea.“An Epic mission! A technological achievement, a global team building achievement, with data impact on hurricanes
Full-Depth Current Profiling Around the Global Ocean
is its deep extent to 3000 m. US scientists collected LADCP data on two visits separated by 3 months during WOCE. The depth of the Great Whirl’s currents increased from 200 m to 2500 m. Due to the deep reach of these currents, the volume of water moving in the Great Whirl matches the flow of the Gulf Stream off Cape Hatteras. The deep reach of the Great Whirl is one proposed explanation for reversals in the abyssal circulation below. These too were observed with LADCPs.Data BlendingOceanographers explored new ways to merge the LADCP information with water properties observed during the hydro casts
Tech Spotlight: JW Fisher’s CT-1 Cable Tracker
wars. During the American Revolution, it was home to the British Fort George. During the Civil War, the same area served as a confederate base of importance to shipping and smuggling known as Fort Holmes. The island is located at the tip of Cape Fear and between the Cape Fear River and Atlantic Gulf Stream. The land mass of Bald Head Island ends by trailing off into roughly 30 miles of treacherous sand bars known as the Frying Pan Shoals. Today, the island is inhabited by a small population of 175 people. The abundance of sea turtle nests has led visitors to use the phrase, "I'm on Turtle
February 2024
