OCB Science Highlights

OCB Science Highlights

If you would like to have your recent publications featured on the OCB website and eNewsletter please contact ocb_news@whoi.edu. View our guidelines for writing a OCB Science Highlight.

Trace metal uptake and remineralization and their impact on upper ocean stoichiometry

July 6, 2016

1. Stoichiometry of metals in the ocean The close relationship between the stoichiometry of nutrients dissolved in the upper ocean and the planktonic organisms that grow in these waters has long been recognized (1, 2). The stoichiometry of 106 C:16 N:1 P first summarized by Redfield has become a fundamental concept of marine biogeochemistry, with numerous studies using the ratio as […]

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Marine particles: Distribution, composition, and role in scavenging of TEIs

July 3, 2016

GEOTRACES and particles in the ocean GEOTRACES is an international program to study the global marine biogeochemical cycles of trace elements and their isotopes (TEIs). The program’s guiding mission is to “identify processes and quantify fluxes that control the distributions of key TEIs in the ocean” (1). Particles represent a key parameter for the GEOTRACES program because of their role […]

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Using GEOTRACES data to appraise iron cycling as represented within global ocean models

June 23, 2016

We rely on global ocean models to predict how climate change might affect the evolution of ocean productivity, acidification, and deoxygenation (1). Such platforms are also used to test hypotheses regarding the controls on ocean biogeochemical cycling and to understand past change (both on historical and geologic timescales). Ocean biogeochemistry models began with relatively simple formulations of a carbon export flux […]

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Exploring molecular methods for assessing trace element bioavailability in phytoplankton

June 4, 2016

This summer OCB and GEOTRACES are co-sponsoring a synthesis workshop on the biogeochemical cycling of trace elements in the ocean. The overall goal of the workshop is to bring together expertise from across the field of oceanography to take advantage of the growing datasets of trace elements in the ocean and explore biological-chemical-physical underpinnings of trace element cycling within the ocean. […]

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Biogeochemical cycling of organic iron-binding ligands: Insights from GEOTRACES data in the Atlantic Ocean

June 3, 2016

Iron is a limiting nutrient for phytoplankton in nearly half of the global surface ocean, and much attention has been paid to the biogeochemical cycling of iron in seawater since suitable trace metal-clean sampling and analysis procedures were developed (1). The organic complexation of dissolved iron, in particular, has emerged as an inherent feature of iron chemistry in the oceans (2-5), […]

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Mesodinium rubrum: An Old Bug Meets New Technology

April 12, 2016

Blooms of red water associated with the remarkable ciliate Mesodinium rubrum have been observed at least since Darwin’s time (1). This ciliate retains the chloroplasts from ingested prey and is able to use them for photosynthesis (reviewed in 2). Recent studies have shown that the plastids can reproduce within the ciliate and that nuclei from […]

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New Satellites Paint a Portrait of Plankton Spatial Variability

April 2, 2016

The newest generation of satellites reveals plankton variability changes in character from uniform to chaotic at different spatial scales, reviving a classic question in oceanography. How does plankton variability change at different spatial scales, and why? New satellites, new insights Satellite technologies can now collect images with resolution down to the scale of meters, presenting […]

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