Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems Archives - NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory

Celebrating the release of major data products to monitor global carbon cycle

Chris Malanuk — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:30:37 +0000

NOAA scientists and their international collaborators reached a significant milestone with the publication of two global ocean carbon data products which will substantially improve our capacity to monitor and measure global biogeochemical cycles and improve predictions of ocean change. The 2026 version of the Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (SOCAT) as well as the newest version […]

The post Celebrating the release of major data products to monitor global carbon cycle appeared first on NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

A new study investigates oil-degrading microbes a year before Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Chris Malanuk — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 17:52:21 +0000

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWH) lasted three months and released 134 million gallons of oil across the Gulf of America – the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Greater than 108,000 square miles of fishing area were shut down for almost a year. Oil blanketed coastlines and an estimated 770 square miles of […]

The post A new study investigates oil-degrading microbes a year before Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill appeared first on NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

A New Collaboration to investigate the ocean’s natural accumulation of carbon

Chris Malanuk — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 20:23:13 +0000

Scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) have successfully installed an underway pCO2 system on the Research Vessel Falkor (too) as part of a new collaboration with the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Ocean Biogeochemistry Virtual Institute (OBVI), performing continuous surface measurements of the ocean’s accumulation of atmospheric carbon dioxide as the vessel sails across […]

The post A New Collaboration to investigate the ocean’s natural accumulation of carbon appeared first on NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

Models estimate potential shifts in thermal habitats for key fisheries

Chris Malanuk — Thu, 03 Sep 2026 13:57:47 +0000

The U.S. east coast has already seen shifts in the distribution of major fisheries, influencing catch limits and complications with permitting across states. As black sea bass, summer flounder and scup populations have shifted away from their habitat in the southeast, they have moved to northern regions where fisheries may have lower catch limits and […]

The post Models estimate potential shifts in thermal habitats for key fisheries appeared first on NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

Scientists at AOML push boundaries to investigate coral resilience of mesophotic reefs

Chris Malanuk — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 17:11:10 +0000

Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) consists of 160 miles of dispersed banks with underwater mountains, ridges, and troughs over 80 miles off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, and it hosts the highest recorded coral cover of any reef within the greater U.S. Atlantic region. While the relatively shallow coral reef caps of […]

The post Scientists at AOML push boundaries to investigate coral resilience of mesophotic reefs appeared first on NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

Traversing the South Atlantic to assess long-term changes across an entire ocean basin

Chris Malanuk — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 20:59:46 +0000

In early May, the 273-foot research vessel Roger Revelle docked in Cabo Verde with an international team of scientists after 53 days at sea, crossing the open Atlantic along a cruise path known as A16S. With scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) and the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) […]

The post Traversing the South Atlantic to assess long-term changes across an entire ocean basin appeared first on NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

NOAA Ocean Exploration and AOML collaborate to release first eDNA data from Okeanos Explorer

Chris Malanuk — Tue, 05 May 2026 17:29:53 +0000

This story is adapted from NOAA Ocean Exploration. See the full story here. In April, NOAA Ocean Exploration, in partnership with NOAA’s National Systematics Laboratory at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the Northern Gulf Institute, and the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, released its first deep-sea environmental DNA (eDNA) datasets. These biological data […]

The post NOAA Ocean Exploration and AOML collaborate to release first eDNA data from Okeanos Explorer appeared first on NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

Scientists at AOML monitor the impacts of ocean acidification on reefs with new series of buoys

AOML Communications — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 15:07:17 +0000

Divers drop over the gunnel. Tanks, weights, divers, and a mesh bag full of tools all descend in emerald waters beneath grey skies. Off the vessel’s bow, a yellow beacon blinks with a red flashing light and a thin data cable stretching to the seafloor, all connected to a suite of sensors twenty feet below […]

The post Scientists at AOML monitor the impacts of ocean acidification on reefs with new series of buoys appeared first on NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

From sample to source: tracking pollution pathways in AOML’s Molecular and Environmental Microbiology Lab

AOML Communications — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 16:59:51 +0000

With sterile sample bottles at the ready, scientists in the Molecular and Environmental Microbiology Lab at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) prepare to capture water samples for analysis in the lab. Invisible to the naked eye, nutrients, pollutants, and entire communities of bacteria, algae, and other microorganisms drift through these waters leaving clues […]

The post From sample to source: tracking pollution pathways in AOML’s Molecular and Environmental Microbiology Lab appeared first on NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

Scientists at AOML lead workshop for international Surface Ocean CO2 Reference Observing Network (SOCONET)

Chris Malanuk — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 15:37:50 +0000

Last week, scientists with AOML’s Ocean Carbon Cycle team led a workshop under the international Surface Ocean CO2 Reference Observing Network (SOCONET) on best practices for maintaining an underway pCO2 system and quality-controlling data to standardize crucial measurements of the surface ocean’s uptake of carbon. The global ocean takes up carbon from the atmosphere on […]

The post Scientists at AOML lead workshop for international Surface Ocean CO2 Reference Observing Network (SOCONET) appeared first on NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.