Category: Physical Oceanography

Monitoring vital signs: Tools and technologies at the heart of physical oceanography

In 2018, an Australian couple curiously stumbled upon a bottle of gin washed ashore in Wedge Island, Australia. Yet, there was no gin inside. Rather, preserved within the bottle was a note with the date June 12th, 1886; the name of a German barque, Paula; the ship’s departure and arrival ports; and the exact coordinates […]

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Ocean Month: Identifying the ocean’s role in fueling hurricanes

Join us as we celebrate and learn about our world ocean throughout National Ocean Month. June 1st not only marks the start of National Ocean Month, it also is the first day of hurricane season. To kick off this year’s Ocean Month, we are looking at the major role the ocean plays in the formation […]

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Australia to Thailand: I09N GO-SHIP Cruise Completes Voyage 

After nearly 40 days at sea, the I09N GO-SHIP cruise (short for “Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program”) aboard the R/V Thomas G. Thompson arrived in Phuket, Thailand on April 27th, successfully completing its mission surveying both the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. After departing from Fremantle, Australia on March 21st, the international team of researchers spent weeks collecting data essential for investigating global changes in ocean physics, chemistry, and biology.

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New Insights into Deep Ocean Cooling in the Atlantic

New study reveals long-term cooling and freshening of the deep Subtropical North Atlantic Ocean, with hints of major shifts to come over next decade An official press release can be seen on the University of Miami Rosenstiel School’s newsroom website. A new study published in Nature Communications, Earth & Environment unveils a surprising new take […]

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The Growing Impact of ENSO on U.S. Extreme Drought and Flood Events

Extreme hydroclimate events, such as droughts, floods, and heavy rainfall, account for a substantial portion of weather-related disasters in the United States, leading to significant socio-economic losses involving agriculture, water resources, and public health, among others. For instance, from 1980 to 2024, droughts were responsible for approximately $368 billion in economic losses for the United […]

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Advancing our understanding of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)

A pause in the weakening of the AMOC since the early 2010s A recent study by scientists at AOML found that extensive weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) occurred in the 2000s, but has paused since the early 2010s due to a tug-of-war between the natural and anthropogenic signals.  The AMOC is the […]

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12 days of teKNOWLEDGEy

Behind every research project at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) are a suite of instruments. Whether descending to depths or weathering storms, these technologies are paramount to oceanic and atmospheric observations.  Get to know 12 of these instruments with a new social media series: 12 Days of teKNOWLEDGEy! On the 1st day of […]

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Argo, the ‘crown jewel’ of ocean observing systems, turns 25

Originally published on noaa.gov on December 11, 2024. Somewhere in the middle of the ocean, a merchant mariner lowers a cylindrical robotic ocean observing instrument from a ship into the sea to record ocean temperature and salinity. Another instrument is deployed from a plane into the eye of a hurricane to take the pulse of […]

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New NOAA research predicts an increase in active Atlantic hurricane seasons

Tropical cyclones are among the most deadly and costly natural disasters that affect the United States and many other countries each year. This has led the scientific community to prioritize improving tropical cyclone prediction and the understanding of how tropical cyclone activity has changed and will change in the future. In a new study published […]

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Sailing into science: Collaborative cruise exposes students to oceangoing research

Over the past few months, the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science has conducted three FLOTSUM, i.e., Florida Ocean Time Series by Undergrads at UM, cruises aboard its research vessel the F.G. Walton Smith. FLOTSUM day cruises are conducted five times per year in the Florida Straits for training purposes […]

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