Air samples collected in the German part of the North Sea from March to July 2010 were investigated for organophosphorus compounds (OPs) being applied as flame retardants and plasticizers. The ∑(8)OPs concentration ranged from 110 to 1400 pg m(-3) while tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP) dominated all samples with individual concentrations up to 1200 pg m(-3). The highest concentrations w...

The Arctic halocline stratification is an important barrier to the transport of deep ocean heat to the underside of sea ice. Surface water in the Chukchi Sea, warmed in summer by solar radiation, ventilates the Canada Basin halocline to create a warm layer below the mixed-layer base. The year-round persistence of this layer is shown to be consistent with the seasonal cycle of halocline ventilat...

Atmospheric forcing, which is known to have a strong influence on surface ocean dynamics and production, is typically not considered in studies of the deep sea. Our observations and models demonstrate an unexpected influence of surface-generated mesoscale eddies in the transport of hydrothermal vent efflux and of vent larvae away from the northern East Pacific Rise. Transport by these deep-reac...

This paper summarizes the ocean surface net energy flux simulated by fifteen atmospheric general circulation models constrained by realistically-varying sea surface temperatures and sea ice as part of the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project. In general, the simulated energy fluxes are within the very large observational uncertainties. However, the annual mean oceanic meridional heat trans...

The role of the ocean as a sink for CO2 is partially dependent on the downward transport of phytoplankton cells packaged within fast-sinking particles. However, whether such fast-sinking mechanisms deliver fresh organic carbon down to the deep bathypelagic sea and whether this mechanism is prevalent across the ocean requires confirmation. Here we report the ubiquitous presence of healthy photos...

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and Institut Francais Pour la Recherche et l’Exploitation de la Mer European Remote-Sensing Satellite, named IFR2, surface wind velocity data products are compared during July 1995 over the Arabian Sea. Substantial differences were found. The central positions of the maximum isotach were separated by 450 km, and the ECMWF maximum is...