Scale Ocean Research Articles

Ocean-scale patterns of environment and climate changes driving global marine phytoplankton biomass dynamics.

Effects of marine environment and climate changes on phytoplankton dynamics in global oceans have received increasing attention but remain a mystery. This study used a comprehensive approach combining correlation and information flow to explore relationships among phytoplankton biomass, marine environment, and climate forcing based on global observations over the past multi-decadal period. Correlation and causality between phytoplankton biomass and environmental factors exhibit spatial asymmetry-regions where environmental factors directly drive biomass variations were concentrated in oceanic currents and subtropical circulations. Temperature, light, and mixed layer depth show pronounced influences on global phytoplankton interdecadal variations. Climate forcing over interdecadal timescales directly affects phytoplankton biomass in the equatorial Pacific, South Pacific, and Indian Oceans, with more uncertain biomass variability in the equatorial Pacific due to multiple climate events. Our findings revealed that environment and climate changes directly affect phytoplankton interdecadal variability only in specific regions at the oceanic scale.

Disentangling the role of biotic and abiotic factors in shaping microbial biogeographic patterns in the large spatial scale ocean

Across large oceanic spatial scales, the mechanisms governing microbial community composition remain poorly understood, particularly regarding the influence of biotic factors. In this study, samples were collected over a 3772.55-kilometer transect in the Western Pacific surface waters, with 16S and 18S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing employed to elucidate the assembly processes and drivers of microbial communities. Both eukaryotic (EM) and prokaryotic microbial (PM) communities exhibited a significant distance-decay relationship throughout the survey, although their assembly mechanisms differed. Biotic factors played a pivotal role in shaping the biogeographical patterns of both EM and PM communities, indicating that cross-domain microbial interactions significantly affect each other's distribution. Furthermore, the stability of the co-occurrence network was more strongly influenced by cross-domain microbial relationships than by keystone taxa. These findings advance our understanding of the mechanisms and biogeographical patterns sustaining microbial diversity across large oceanic spatial scales.

A Multi-Spatial Scale Ocean Sound Speed Prediction Method Based on Deep Learning

As sound speed is a fundamental parameter of ocean acoustic characteristics, its prediction is a central focus of underwater acoustics research. Traditional numerical and statistical forecasting methods often exhibit suboptimal performance under complex conditions, whereas deep learning approaches demonstrate promising results. However, these methodologies fall short in adequately addressing multi-spatial coupling effects and spatiotemporal weighting, particularly in scenarios characterized by limited data availability. To investigate the interactions across multiple spatial scales and to achieve accurate predictions, we propose the STA-ConvLSTM framework that integrates spatiotemporal attention mechanisms with convolutional long short-term memory neural networks (ConvLSTM). The core concept involves accounting for the coupling effects among various spatial scales while extracting temporal and spatial information from the data and assigning appropriate weights to different spatiotemporal entities. Furthermore, we introduce an interpolation method for ocean temperature and salinity data based on the KNN algorithm to enhance dataset resolution. Experimental results indicate that STA-ConvLSTM provides precise predictions of sound speed. Specifically, relative to the measured data, it achieved a root mean square error (RMSE) of approximately 0.57 m/s and a mean absolute error (MAE) of about 0.29 m/s. Additionally, when compared to single-dimensional spatial analysis, incorporating multi-spatial scale considerations yielded superior predictive performance.

The persistent DDT footprint of ocean disposal, and ecological controls on bioaccumulation in fishes

Globally, ocean dumping of chemical waste is a common method of disposal and relies on the assumption that dilution, diffusion, and dispersion at ocean scales will mitigate human exposure and ecosystem impacts. In southern California, extensive dumping of agrochemical waste, particularly chlorinated hydrocarbon contaminants such as DDT, via sewage outfalls and permitted offshore barging occurred for most of the last century. This study compiled a database of existing sediment and fish DDT measurements to examine how this unique legacy of regional ocean disposal translates into the contemporary contamination of the coastal ocean. We used spatiotemporal modeling to derive continuous estimates of sediment DDT contamination and show that the spatial signature of disposal (i.e., high loadings near historic dumping sites) is highly conserved in sediments. Moreover, we demonstrate that the proximity of fish to areas of high sediment loadings explained over half of the variation in fish DDT concentrations. The relationship between sediment and fish contamination was mediated by ecological predictors (e.g., species, trophic ecology, habitat use), and the relative influence of each predictor was context-dependent, with habitat exhibiting greater importance in heavily contaminated areas. Thus, despite more than half a century since the cessation of industrial dumping in the region, local ecosystem contamination continues to mirror the spatial legacy of dumping, suggesting that sediment can serve as a robust predictor of fish contamination, and general ecological characteristics offer a predictive framework for unmeasured species or locations.

A new airborne system for simultaneous high-resolution ocean vector current and wind mapping: first demonstration of the SeaSTAR mission concept in the macrotidal Iroise Sea

Abstract. Coastal seas, shelf seas and marginal ice zones are dominated by small-scale ocean surface dynamic processes that play a vital role in the transport and exchange of climate-relevant properties such as carbon, heat, water and nutrients between land, ocean, ice and atmosphere. Mounting evidence indicates that ocean scales below 10 km have far-ranging impacts on air–sea interactions, lateral ocean dispersion, vertical stratification, ocean carbon cycling and marine productivity – governing exchanges across key interfaces of the Earth system, the global ocean, and atmosphere circulation and climate. Yet, these processes remain poorly observed at the fine spatial and temporal scales necessary to resolve them. The Ocean Surface Current Airborne Radar (OSCAR) is a new airborne instrument with the capacity to inform these questions by mapping vectorial fields of total ocean surface currents and winds at high resolution over a wide swath. Developed for the European Space Agency (ESA), OSCAR is the airborne demonstrator of the satellite mission concept SeaSTAR, which aims to map total surface current and ocean wind vectors with unprecedented accuracy, spatial resolution and temporal revisit across all coastal seas, shelf seas and marginal ice zones. Like SeaSTAR, OSCAR is an active microwave synthetic aperture radar along-track interferometer (SAR-ATI) with optimal three-azimuth sensing enabled by unique highly squinted beams. In May 2022, OSCAR was flown over the Iroise Sea, France, in its first scientific campaign as part of the ESA-funded SEASTARex project. The campaign successfully demonstrated the capabilities of OSCAR to produce high-resolution 2D images of total surface current vectors and near-surface ocean vector winds, simultaneously, in a highly dynamic, macrotidal coastal environment. OSCAR current and wind vectors show excellent agreement with ground-based X-band-radar-derived surface currents, numerical model outputs and NovaSAR-1 satellite SAR imagery, with root mean square differences from the X-band radar better than 0.2 m s−1 for currents at 200 m resolution. These results are the first demonstration of simultaneous retrieval of total current and wind vectors from a high-squint three-look SAR-ATI instrument and the first geophysical validation of the OSCAR and SeaSTAR observing principle. OSCAR presents a remarkable new ocean observing capability to support the study of small-scale ocean dynamics and air–sea interactions across the Earth's coastal, shelf and polar seas.

Uncoupled: investigating the lack of correlation between the transcription of putative plastic-degrading genes in the global ocean microbiome and marine plastic pollution

BackgroundPlastic pollution is a severe threat to marine ecosystems. While some microbial enzymes can degrade certain plastics, the ability of the global ocean microbiome to break down diverse environmental plastics remains limited. We employed metatranscriptomic data from an international ocean survey to explore global and regional patterns in microbial plastic degradation potential.ResultsOn a global oceanic scale, we found no significant correlation between levels of plastic pollution and the expression of genes encoding enzymes putatively identified as capable of plastic degradation. Even when looking at different regional scales, ocean depth layers, or plastic types, we found no strong or even moderate correlation between plastic pollution and relative abundances of transcripts for enzymes with presumed plastic biodegradation potential. Our data, however, indicate that microorganisms in the Southern Ocean show a higher potential for plastic degradation, making them more appealing candidates for bioprospecting novel plastic-degrading enzymes.ConclusionOur research contributes to understanding the complex global relationship between plastic pollution and microbial plastic degradation potential. We reveal that the transcription of putative plastic-degrading genes in the global ocean microbiome does not correlate to marine plastic pollution, highlighting the ongoing danger that plastic poses to marine environments threatened by plastic pollution.

The dominant modes of recent sea level variability from 1993 to 2020 in the China Seas

A better understanding of internal climatic variability is essential for estimating and predicting regional sea level rise in the coming decades. Based on the satellite altimeter data, the cyclostationary empirical orthogonal function (CSEOF) analysis is used to extract and examine the seasonal signal, trend, El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-related, and low-frequency mode of sea level anomaly in the China Seas from 1993 to 2020. The interannual changes in the annual cycle of sea level were significantly influenced by the mean surface pressure and the 10-m zonal wind component. Furthermore, strong El Niño events (1997/1998) can significantly affect seasonal fluctuations through precipitation and runoff. By recombining the loading vector and principal component time series of the trend mode, we estimate the sea level trends to be about 3.63 ± 0.37 mm/yr. The South China Sea, followed by the Yellow Sea, is where ENSO's effects on sea level fluctuations are most noticeable. The 2015–2016 El Niño, which was a combination of the Central Pacific (CP) ENSO Eastern Pacific (EP) ENSO, had average sea levels that were much lower than those of the 1997–1998 (CP ENSO) and 2009–2010 (CP ENSO). The Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) can significantly affect the low frequency mode, but other sources also contribute to this mode. The South China Sea, especially to the west of Luzon Island, exhibits the highest level of variability in the low-frequency mode. Finally, our work shows that, in contrast to global or oceanic scales, regional CSEOF analysis does, in fact, capture regional sea level variability more accurately and detailed.

Biogeochemistry of dissolved trace metals in the Bay of Bengal

The pronounced seasonal variation over the Bay of Bengal affects trace metals concentration and distribution. Trace metals distribution in the Bay of Bengal has been best characterized during spring and fall intermonsoon, while limited studies were conducted during the southwest monsoon. This study reports the full-depth profiles of trace metals, including dissolved iron, manganese, lead, cadmium, copper, and zinc (Fe, Mn, Pb, Cd, Cu, and Zn) in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) during southwest monsoon, from July to August 2013. At coastal and ocean scales, transect observations covering the entire water depth provided a comprehensive picture of the circulation and biogeochemical cycles of these elements in seawater during the southwest monsoon. Water samples were obtained from one station in the northeastern Indian Ocean (NR-1) and from three shallow coastal stations with maximum depths <60 m (BA-1, BA-3, and BA-5), as well as from three offshore stations with maximum depths exceeding 2000 m (MY-7, MY-9, and MY-11). In the surface layer (5 m depth), the trace metal concentrations at the shallow near-coastal station BA-5 were higher than those at the ocean station NR-1. Surface trace metal concentrations in offshore regions encompassing stations MY-11, MY-9, and MY-7 were relatively higher than those reported for other seasons in a similar salinity region, indicating seasonal variation associated with freshwater intrusion and coastal-derived input. Below the mixed layer depth, the trace metal/phosphate (P) ratio was higher than that previously reported in the eastern Indian Ocean, suggesting an input from continental margins and mildly reducing sediments, particularly for Fe, Mn, and Cu. Moreover, at intermediate depths (190–800 m), where the North Indian Central Water (NICW) is the main water mass, the Cd/P ratio (0.55 ± 0.11 nmol/μmol) deviated from the global trend (∼0.3 nmol/μmol) owing to oxygen-deficient conditions. Intriguingly, at some stations, specifically MY-9 and MY-7, the intermediate dFe concentrations were relatively higher than those at station NR-1 at the same depth. Continental margin sediment, water mass movement, and ventilation may control the transport of Fe from locations with high Fe concentrations, including near the continental shelf (station MY-11 in this study) and the Andaman Sea.

Numerical simulation of immersion of a tunnel element - downscaling by CFD technology

During the immersion process of tunnel elements in the sea, the surrounding currents would inevitably be changed. A large scale ocean circulation model, which can simulate the sea currents, usually do not solve underwater structures. Thus, in this chapter, we use a downscaling Computational Fluid Dynamics model to simulate the flow characteristics around an immersed tunnel element for Shenzhong Link in China, under different velocity inlets and at different depths. Since E1 element is shielded from diversion dike and the flow velocity around is small, this paper focus on simulation of the flow field during the immersion process of E2 element after the completion of E1.

Is there an affective neuroscience of spirituality? The development and validation of the OCEANic feelings scale.

Oceanic feelings represent a phenomenological structure of affective sensations that characteristically involve feelings of self-dissolution and feelings of unity and transcendence. This study presents the preliminary version of a self-report instrument to measure individual dispositions toward oceanic feelings in order to enable further research within the concept of primary emotions postulated by Jaak Panksepp. A first version of the questionnaire was applied to a total sample of 926 German-speaking adults of the general population. After performing item analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) in a first study (N = 300), the questionnaire was shortened. In a second study (N = 626), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted and emerged scales were related to the already established instruments for the assessment of primary emotions (BANPS-GL) and Big Five personality traits (BFI-44). The OCEANic scale exhibited reliabilities ranging from Cronbach's α = 0.82 (positive) to α = 0.88 (negative) and plausible correlations with behavioral traits related to the seven affective neurobiological systems (ANGER, FEAR, CARE, SEEK, PLAY, SADNESS, and LUST) as well as with personality factors measured by the Big Five Inventory. For CFA, a bifactorial model with an overall factor demonstrated good fit: RMSEA = 0.00 (90% CI:0.00, 0.03); TLI = 1.00; CFI = 1.00; NFI = 0.99. The OCEANic scale enables the operationalization of oceanic feelings comprising two subscales and one total scale. The results indicate good reliability and acceptable factorial validity. Establishment and further validation of the OCEANic scale within future research will be needed to fully understand the role of oceanic feelings within the human affective life, especially the personality trait of spirituality.

Asynchronous changes in terrestrial near-surface wind speed among regions across China from 1973 to 2017

Understanding the characteristics and causes of asynchronous changes in near-surface wind speed (NSWS) improves the ability of climate projection, but yet to be comprehended are the asynchronous features in NSWS and possible causes over China. In this study, the asynchronous variations in NSWS among regions are considerable across China. The non-synchronization of variations in intra-annual NSWS was manifested in the amplitudes and periods of NSWS. The amplitudes and periods of intra-annual NSWS among regions were in the ranges of 0.08–0.20 m s−1 and 0.24–0.32 years, respectively. The intra-annual changes in NSWS in different regions were influenced by different large–scale ocean–atmosphere circulations (LOACs). The non-synchronization of variations in interannual NSWS was also manifested in the amplitudes and periods of NSWS, and the strongest and weakest interannual variations in NSWS occurred over northeast and northwest China. The interannual variations in NSWS could be induced by El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). At intra-annual and interannual scales, LOACs mainly controlled the changes in the phase of NSWS, which could not be responsible for the amplitudes of NSWS. The interdecadal NSWS also showed regional differences, and it mainly exhibited an increase after the 1990s in all regions except for South China. The interdecadal changes in NSWS among regions were also dominated by LOACs, which contributed reached 50.0% to the NSWS changes. Furthermore, the LOACs dominated not only the changes in the phase of interdecadal NSWS but also the changes in amplitudes of interdecadal NSWS.

Spatiotemporal reconstruction of global ocean surface pCO2 based on optimized random forest

The partial pressure of ocean surface CO2 (pCO2) plays an important role in quantifying the carbon budget and assessing ocean acidification. For such a vast and complex ocean system as the global ocean, most current research practices tend to study the ocean into regions. In order to reveal the overall characteristics of the global ocean and avoid mutual influence between zones, a holistic research method was used to detect the correlation of twelve predictive factors, including chlorophyll concentration (Chlor_a), diffuse attenuation coefficient at 490 nm (Kd_490), density ocean mixed layer thickness (Mlotst), eastward velocity (East), northward velocity (North), salinity (Sal), temperature (Temp), dissolved iron (Fe), dissolved silicate (Si), nitrate (NO3), potential of hydrogen (pH), phosphate (PO4), at the global ocean scale. Based on measured data from the Global Surface pCO2 (LDEO) database, combined with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ocean Color satellite data and Copernicus Ocean reanalysis data, an improved optimized random forest (ORF) method is proposed for the overall reconstruction of global ocean surface pCO2, and compared with various machine learning methods. The results indicate that the ORF method is the most accurate in overall modeling at the global ocean scale (mean absolute error of 6.27μatm, root mean square error of 15.34μatm, R2 of 0.92). Based on independent observations from the LDEO dataset and time series observation stations, the ORF model was further validated, and the global ocean surface pCO2 distribution map of 0.25° × 0.25° for 2010 to 2019 was reconstructed, which is of significance for the global ocean carbon cycle and carbon assessment.

Response of oceanic subsurface chlorophyll maxima to environmental drivers in the Northern Indian Ocean

Subsurface Chlorophyll Maxima (SCM) contributes a significant proportion to depth-integrated ocean primary production, making it important to understand its spatiotemporal variability in changing environmental conditions. Based on field observations and in situ data, we studied SCM characteristics in four distinct environmental settings across Northern Indian Ocean: SEAS-south eastern Arabian Sea (coastal upwelling zone), SAS-Southern Arabian Sea (Arabian Sea mini warm pool-ASMWP), SBOB-Southern Bay of Bengal (presence of mesoscale eddies) and ANS-Andaman Sea (region of active volcanoes). SCM displayed significant spatial variability: ZSCM (SCM depth) ranged between 25 and 88 m (mean = 59.5 m), Chlmax (SCM magnitude) ranged between 0.07 and 0.2 mg m−3 (mean = 0.12 mg m−3) while TSCM (SCM thickness) ranged between 33 and 100 m (mean = 69 m). Major factors affecting the ZSCM were light and nutrients, since ZSCM was closely related to Zeu (euphotic depth) and ZN (nitracline depth). Positive relation between Chlmax and micro phytoplankton suggests micro phytoplankton to be a major contributor in increasing Chlmax. TSCM was associated to ZT (thermocline depth) and nutrient concentration. Increase in stratification and oligotrophy, resulted in deeper, thicker peaks of lower magnitude, and such nature of peaks could increase in continued warming scenarios. Dinoflagellates increased in warmer oligotrophic environments. Nanophytoplankton were higher at deeper ZSCM, possibly due to their adaptability to low light. Upwelling caused shoaling of SCM with higher Chlmax in SEAS. SCM deepened in SAS and SBOB, dominated by picophytoplankton due to the influence of ASMWP (in SAS) and anticyclonic eddy (in SBOB). Ammonia and nutrient inputs from submarine vents in ANS, caused shoaling of ZN and ZSCM. Globally, multiple physical processes operate at short spatiotemporal scale, causing SCM variability, and the same should not be overlooked while estimating primary production or carbon export to deep ocean, through generalisations established at larger scale in the world ocean.

Drift bottle data hint at large-scale ocean circulation changes

Over the last two decades, in an effort to engage youth in polar science, the Students On Ice (SOI; https://studentsonice.com/) project has become a platform for youth to partake in scientific expeditions around the globe. Among the various activities offered, youth are able to join cruises in the North Atlantic or Arctic, and drop sealed glass bottles into the ocean. Of the thousands that have been deployed, 5% of bottles have been recovered and reported back to SOI with details on when and where they were found. Here, we compare the observational bottle data with virtual particle trajectories from a high resolution regional ocean model. Although modelling results indicate a higher likelihood of bottles reaching the shores of the western Atlantic, the majority of recovered bottles were found on the eastern side of the Atlantic. We attribute this disparity to differences in population density in Canada and Europe, biasing the recovery rates. Despite this bias, we find that changes in recovery locations over time are consistent with changes in the main ocean currents associated with the contraction and expansion of the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre, as simulated in our ocean model. In 2007, a large number of bottles were found in Norway, coinciding with a contracted North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre during 2004-2008. While between 2012-2016, the majority of bottles were recovered on the British Isles, during a time of gyre expansion. These results underline the importance of large scale oceanic cycles for tracking marine debris and pollution, and show how even simple data collection methods, such as drift bottles, can provide clues to the changes in the large scale ocean circulation.

Integrated hydrodynamic-electrical hardware model for wave energy conversion with M4 ocean demonstrator

Wave energy is well known to be a renewable energy resource with worldwide capacity similar to wind. However there is to date negligible generation of electricity from wave. Many devices have been proposed without convergence on a particular design as there has been for wind. We are here concerned with a multi-float attenuator type M4 which has been widely tested in wave basins and modelled by linear diffraction/radiation methods. Potential of MW capacity for grid supply has been demonstrated at many sites. To advance development, small scale ocean tests are being planned for Albany, Western Australia where summer wind-wave conditions in King George Sound will excite the device giving principal absorption with mean periods in the range 2 - 3.5 seconds (or peak periods of 2.5 – 4.5 s). The aim is to learn about most aspects of ocean deployment from wave climate and environment planning to realistic electricity generation, albeit at kW scale. In this paper the emphasis is on the specification of electrical drive train (power take off) which requires the input of torque time variation for the wave conditions on the site, as described by a scatter diagram. First a linear time domain wave multi-float model (Fortran) is set up for the particular 121 configuration, shown in Fig. 1. Such models have been used and validated against wave basin tests for similar configurations. This is then converted into state-space form in Matlab. This is highly efficient and suited for real time PTO control in Simulink. Fig. 2 shows the main components of the electrical drive train, including the gearbox, generator, super-capacitors, power electronic converters and resistor bank to dissipate electricity. Bespoke Matlab models will be run for the wave conditions in the scatter diagram to check that components are suitably rated for normal sea-states, and are safely protected through electrical power-limiting control in high sea states. Simulated electrical generator results will be shown for typical sea states, with some power-limiting. Instrumentation will be specified. Only uni-directional waves are considered in this paper. Ultimately the efficacy of the system will be demonstrated in ocean conditions.

Latitudinal variation in the potential activity of Atlantic Ocean bacterioplankton revealed through 16S rRNA and 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding

The activities of bacterioplankton sustain open ocean biogeochemical and ecological processes, however, little is known about the activity of specific bacterioplankton, especially related to their biogeography across oceanic scales. The Atlantic is the second largest of the world’s oceans and has an essential role in the global carbon cycle. Here, we show congruence in the structure of 16S rRNA and 16S rRNA gene derived bacterioplankton communities throughout the Atlantic Ocean from temperate to tropical regions. We used 16S rRNA:16S rRNA gene ratios as a phylogenetically resolved proxy for potential activity, demonstrating ocean-scale patterns of putative oligotrophy and copiotrophy in major bacterioplankton groups, with spatial niche partitioning being evident at single-nucleotide resolution within some groups, including the Flavobacteria and SAR86. This study examines the potential structure of the active microbiome of the Atlantic Ocean, providing novel insights into the ecology and life history strategies of both well-known and currently understudied bacterioplankton taxa.

Analysis of purification in radioactively contaminated ocean water near the Fukushima nuclear accident site

AbstractThe nuclear‐contaminated water in the seawater near the site of the Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP) accident is being investigated for treating the radioactive material. One of the most important considerations in the treatment is the management of the vast aquatic area of the oceanic scale. There are two methods in the application of osmosis and filtration for the modeling. There is the molecule quantity by the water volume where the list of transition of quantities is shown, where it decreases to 10% from the reversed osmosis method and to 0.01% from the filtration method in 9 days. In the filtrations, the discharge variations in the sea are described as the maximum and minimum values within 100 square velocities. A design for the general radioactive contaminated seawater treatment facility is introduced.

A Review of The Microgenre: A Quick Look at Small Culture

A Review of <i>The Microgenre: A Quick Look at Small Culture</i>

Diversity of the Pacific Ocean coral reef microbiome

Coral reefs are among the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. They support high biodiversity of multicellular organisms that strongly rely on associated microorganisms for health and nutrition. However, the extent of the coral reef microbiome diversity and its distribution at the oceanic basin-scale remains to be explored. Here, we systematically sampled 3 coral morphotypes, 2 fish species, and planktonic communities in 99 reefs from 32 islands across the Pacific Ocean, to assess reef microbiome composition and biogeography. We show a very large richness of reef microorganisms compared to other environments, which extrapolated to all fishes and corals of the Pacific, approximates the current estimated total prokaryotic diversity for the entire Earth. Microbial communities vary among and within the 3 animal biomes (coral, fish, plankton), and geographically. For corals, the cross-ocean patterns of diversity are different from those known for other multicellular organisms. Within each coral morphotype, community composition is always determined by geographic distance first, both at the island and across ocean scale, and then by environment. Our unprecedented sampling effort of coral reef microbiomes, as part of the Tara Pacific expedition, provides new insight into the global microbial diversity, the factors driving their distribution, and the biocomplexity of reef ecosystems.

New horizons for hydrography

Compared to the complexity required to measure other physical quantities, the continuous monitoring globally of water levels, current directions, and velocities, as well as the measurement of underwater topography, do not appear ambitious tasks for modern technologies. The challenges lie in the sheer size of the area to be measured, which makes up about 70% of the Earth’s total surface, in its constant variability due to natural processes, the inaccessibility of the seabed, and the still inadequate mathematical modelling of global geophysical processes at the oceanic scale. Since most of the world’s population lives on, from and with the oceans, a demand-oriented provision of hydrographic information is of fundamental importance. Hydrography is called upon to serve this need for information in support of informed decision-making. Starting from the present status and the discernible trends in technical development, this article aims to provide a glimpse into the expected future development up to the end of the current decade.