Publications Archives - NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory

Antarctic Bottom Water contraction drives abyssal ocean warming along SAMBA-West line (34.5°S) in the Argentine basin

AOML Communications — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 20:02:12 +0000

Santos, D. M. C., T. C. Bilo, et al.

We present an updated assessment of abyssal temperature trends in the Argentine Basin using expanded hydrographic and moored observations from the SAMBA-West line. The study addresses two main questions: (1) What is the spatial distribution of the abyssal warming along the SAMBA-West line? (2) What mechanisms drive the observed changes? Using output from a high-resolution numerical simulation, we first characterize how the abyssal flow near 34.5°S relates to the broader basin-scale circulation, providing context for interpreting the observations. Within this framework, we find that SAMBA-West is situated within a dynamically complex junction of deep boundary currents and recirculation pathways in the northwestern portion of the Argentine Basin. A coherent, statistically significant warming trend is found across most of the array and vertically throughout the AABW layer, primarily due to its vertical contraction, likely reflecting reduced formation or export of the AABW.

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A new model predicts dynamic seawater chemistry on Florida’s coral reefs

Chris Malanuk — Thu, 29 May 2025 21:00:33 +0000

Water masses move over reefs, seagrass beds, and sandbanks – and as they do, the seawater chemistry changes. In the Florida Keys, changes in coral reef carbonate chemistry are driven by benthic metabolism, the origin of the water mass, and the connectivity of habitats. A new study from NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) […]

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New study demonstrates the impacts of multiple stressors on reef-building corals

Chris Malanuk — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 19:53:01 +0000

In a new study, scientists at AOML and the University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (CIMAS) demonstrated how some genotypes of the reef-building coral Acropora cervicornis (Staghorn Coral), listed on the Endangered Species Act, proved resilient when exposed to high nutrient levels or disease, but not when the two stressors were […]

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