oceanography

Research into deep-ocean volcanic activity is revealing patterns that don’t fit traditional explanations. What lies beneath may be part of a far more extensive system than once thought.

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 16 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02012-2 The burial of terrestrially derived organic carbon in coastal marine sediments greatly increased during the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, probably helping to draw down a large portion of carbon released during the hyperthermal event, according to biomarker records from five sites.

Nature Communications, Published online: 16 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-73733-6 Precisely dated cave records show that a prolonged slowdown in Atlantic ocean circulation drove exceptional ocean heat buildup and rapid ice-sheet melting during Termination IV (~340,000 years ago), when sea-level rise rates exceeded those of today.

Nature Communications, Published online: 16 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74368-3 The study reveals that orbital-driven convection in the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool generates planetary Rossby waves. These waves propagate poleward, organizing a coherent, banded precipitation anomaly pattern across the Asia-Pacific region.

Data from a NASA campaign in Panama and Peru will help communities prepare for tropical floods in cloud-covered areas, improve scientific understanding of forest health, and support planning for spaceborne missions. NASA’s C-20A aircraft from Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, flew the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) instrument, developed at NASA…

A cold blob of water in the North Atlantic points to a weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, researchers report.

NASA satellites have detected a vast pulse of warm water reaching the coast of South America, signaling that El Niño is likely developing. The warm water is being carried eastward by massive ocean waves known as Kelvin waves, which also cause sea levels to rise. El Niño can reshape weather patterns worldwide, bringing floods, droughts, and temperature extremes.

Buoyant volcanic rock fragments from an underwater eruption drifted across the Bismarck Sea and choked island coasts. The post Pumice Rafts Encroach on Admiralty Islands appeared first on NASA Science .

‘Coastal uplift’ exposes coral and kills marine life, as residents say shorelines extended by up to 200 metres A powerful earthquake that killed at least 61 people in the Philippines this week raised the seabed by as much as 2 metres (6.6 feet), exposing coral and harming marine life, the environment department said on Sunday. At least 40 people are still missing after the 7.8-magnitude tremor in…

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 12 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02004-2 Carbon dioxide hydrates on the seafloor are sustained by the venting of liquid CO2 associated with volcanic activity near Mayotte Island, according to observations from remotely operated vehicles and geochemical analyses.

Sentinel-6 satellite data shows strengthening warm-water waves in the Pacific, pointing to the likely arrival of El Niño and its global weather impacts later in 2026. Several months before an El Niño develops, large waves of warmer, elevated water travel eastward across the Pacific Ocean. Satellite observations in 2026 have detected several of these waves. [...]

Scientific Reports, Published online: 12 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-54843-z Wave energy converters as offshore wind farm guardians: a pathway to resilient ocean systems

With $54M and a SpaceX playbook, Seattle's Endurance races to tap deep-sea volcanic power Read More

Nature Communications, Published online: 11 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74249-9 This study shows that atmospheric rivers (ARs) influence marine heatwaves in a seasonally dependent manner, driven by imbalances between AR-induced turbulent and radiative heat fluxes under varying seasonal background states.

Nowhere else on the planet has such a large swath of ocean been studied as thoroughly and for so long, and much of our modern approach to oceanography can be traced back to this hidden gem.

The Atlantic's enigmatic "cold blob" has once again been linked to a weakening of key ocean currents and a devastating climate tipping point.

IntroductionIndonesia has designated 15 National Priority Lakes (Presidential Regulation No. 60/2021), yet quantitative baselines to assess sedimentation threats remain insufficient for most watersheds. This study evaluates Volume Development (VD) trajectories as early warning indicators of basin infilling in the Three Mahakam Lakes (Jempang, Melintang, Semayang)—a flood-pulsed tropical lake comp…

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 09 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-01982-7 Increased hydrothermal iron inputs from mid-ocean ridges, triggered by ice-age sea-level falls, supported higher surface primary productivity during the last two glacial terminations, according to proxy records of nutrient consumption in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.