Ocean mixing is a physical oceanographic phenomenon encompassing the turbulent and wave-driven processes that irreversibly redistribute heat, salt, momentum, and biogeochemical tracers within the ocean interior and boundary layers. It is mediated by shear instability, double-diffusive convection, internal waves (including internal tides), and boundary-generated turbulence, and is quantified using parameters such as diapycnal and isopycnal diffusivities. Ocean mixing regulates the vertical exchange between the surface and deep ocean, controls stratification and overturning circulation, influences climate-relevant heat and carbon storage, and sets nutrient supply to the euphotic zone, thereby coupling physical dynamics with marine biogeochemistry.
A shutdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) could trigger a substantial release of stored ocean carbon into the atmosphere over hundreds of years, according to a new study that simulated such a collapse ...
Earth Sciences
6 hours ago
0
8
Offshore wind farms are an important pillar of the European Union's strategy for renewable energy—by 2050, the EU aims to increase capacity in the North Sea more than tenfold. A new study by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon shows ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 28, 2026
2
1277
A new Stanford University study has helped solve a mystery about dramatic swings in sea ice extent around Antarctica.
Earth Sciences
Mar 28, 2026
0
299
Sea ice around Antarctica expanded for several decades until a dramatic decline in 2015. The reasons behind this are revealed by research led by the University of Gothenburg, which is published in Nature Climate Change.
Earth Sciences
Mar 18, 2026
0
18
Navigating monolithic icebergs, massive ocean waves and sub-zero snowstorms, CSIRO research vessel (RV) Investigator is a workhorse for Antarctic science. In just over 11 years and spread across seven voyages, the vessel ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 16, 2026
0
16
From coral reefs and kelp forests to the open ocean and deep-sea zones, nutrients that support phytoplankton growth and marine productivity form the foundation of oceanic ecosystems. When levels of key nutrients—such as nitrate ...
Environment
Mar 12, 2026
1
57
The South China Sea Throughflow (SCSTF) serves as a critical oceanic conveyor belt for heat and freshwater, mediating water exchanges between the South China Sea (SCS) and the Pacific and Indian oceans while regulating key ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 27, 2026
0
45
An ungainly barrel of a shark cruising languidly over a barren seabed far too deep for the sun's rays to illuminate was an unexpected sight.
Plants & Animals
Feb 18, 2026
0
2768
Yesterday, an international team of researchers from various disciplines set off aboard the German research vessel METEOR for an expedition along the west coast of Africa, led by the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 17, 2026
0
13
New research from the University of Copenhagen suggests that volcanic eruptions during the Ice Age may have triggered sudden climate change by disrupting the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), causing temperatures ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 17, 2026
0
89
