Science
Research
The SOCCO research strategy focuses on the hypothesis that fine scale ocean dynamics are key to understanding the role of the Southern Ocean in global century-scale trends of atmospheric CO2 and regional climate change. Continue reading
Facilities
A South African commitment to having a much greater role in both regional and global science has been articulated by the Global Change Grand Challenge science plan prepared by the science community at the request of DST. Key to gaining new knowledge depends on enhancing our observational technological skills, including numerical modelling. Continue reading
News
Gearing up for novel turbulence observations in the SubAntarctic Zone
In situ observations of open ocean (and in particular Southern Ocean) turbulent mixing are sparse, and remain one of the ‘holy grails’ of Oceanography. Ocean fronts and eddies are hotspots for raised turbulent mixing, however it is extremely intermittent and thus difficult to observe. The passage of strong atmospheric storms are thought to further enhance mixing Continue ReadingAntarctic Circumnavigation Expedition: Leg 1
A SOCCO led research team recently completed the first leg of a unique circumnavigation expedition around Antarctica, ACE (Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition). The team set sail from Cape Town on the 20th December 2016 before arriving in Hobart, Tasmania on the 19th January 2017. This expedition is unique because of the 22 research projects onboard, spanning Continue ReadingFull seasonal coverage in the South Atlantic Zone
The Southern Ocean has a powerful influence on Earth’s climate, as it stores more anthropogenic CO2 and heat than any other latitude band on Earth. This massive body of water also plays a pivotal ecosystem role in regulating the supply of nutrients to lower latitudes which supports about 80% of ocean production. Its ability to Continue ReadingNew Approaches for Air-Sea Fluxes in the Southern Ocean
By Sarah Gille, Simon Josey, and Seb Swart: EOS article 13 May 2016 https://eos.org/meeting-reports/new-approaches-for-air-sea-fluxes-in-the-southern-ocean Air-sea exchanges in the Southern Ocean of momentum, heat, freshwater, carbon dioxide, and other gases are not well documented because fluxes are sparsely sampled (see Figure 1) and because high winds, high sea state, and lack of calibration for bulk formulas make Continue ReadingRobots helping tell the ocean story in South Africa
Eddies — circular currents of water — move deep water nutrients to the surface, but their overall effect on the Southern Ocean and the earth’s changing climate is barely understood. The Southern Ocean, also called the Antarctic Ocean or the Austral Ocean, has high species abundance and diversity, making common and highly specialised species thrive. Sailing the seas Continue ReadingCLIVAR Open Sci Conference: Call for abstracts
Abstracts can be submitted via the Conference website (http://clivar.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=e95bd74f92719b8560b3cbed6&id=11ca606090&e=3e8d045d68) until 15 March 2016. Abstracts must be submitted to one of the OSC sessions; for an overview, check the http://clivar.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e95bd74f92719b8560b3cbed6&id=d2b1bf193e&e=3e8d045d68 programme and session descriptions. Selected contributions will be invited for oral presentation, all others as posters. Contributors may submit up to 3 abstracts. All abstracts must Continue ReadingPhyting Climate Change: The Green Gold of the Global Oceans
The global oceans are estimated to contribute an impressive 50-85% of the oxygen (O2) present in the earth’s atmosphere. It is often assumed the Amazon and other reputable rainforests are responsible for atmospheric O2, however rainforests only cover 2% of the earth’s total surface area; the oceans cover a remarkable 71%. From the Blue Planet Continue ReadingResearchers plug carbon sink gaps
Written by Sarah Wild for Mail and Guardian 21 August 2015 The stormy waters south of the Cape suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and are key to understanding what will happen to our climate as the Earth heats up. The storms are part of the reason the Southern Ocean is one of the most Continue ReadingCarte Blanche Exposé on SOCCO Research & Gliders
In February 2015, Carte Blanche ran a full story on prime time TV covering SOCCO research objectives and how gliders are used in the Southern Ocean to make key observations that assist in answering SOCCOs research questions. Click on this link to see the whole story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phV5lKB7YNgWhy iron can’t solve the climate crisis
A changing climate has brought the Southern Ocean into sharp focus, not only due to the physical changes we are observing in the ice levels and sea surface temperatures around Antarctica, and their effect on currents, but on the biology and life within the oceans. When sailing across the oceans, you notice their Continue ReadingRobot to test health of ocean ‘lungs’
A team of scientists and engineers from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) stand in a large patch of sunlighton the dock at the V&A marina, hurrying to affix an ocean robot to the side of a small vessel with a winch, hauling it from the dock so it hugs the side of the boat. Continue reading
Ocean Gliders Battle Southern OceanTo Capture Seasonal Cycle
South Africa’s ocean gliders are already making unprecedented impact on the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observatory’s (SOCCO) research by providing extended time series of physical and biogeochemical observations… Continue reading
Publications
Seasonal regulation of the coupling between photosynthetic electron transport and carbon fixation in the Southern Ocean
Limnology & Oceanography, doi: 10.1002/lno.10812
Seasonal development of iron limitation in the sub-Antarctic zone
Biogeosciences, 2018, 15, 4647-4660, doi: 10.5194/bg-15-4647-2018
Spatial and temporal scales of chlorophyll variability using high-resolution glider data
Journal of Marine Systems, 2018, vol 187
Interannual drivers of the seasonal cycle of CO2 in the Southern Ocean
Gregor, L., Kok, S., & Monteiro, P. M. S. (2018). Interannual drivers of the seasonal cycle of CO2 in the Southern Ocean. Biogeosciences, 15(8), 2361–2378. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-2361-2018
An optimized method for correcting fluorescence quenching using optical backscattering on autonomous platforms
Limnology and Oceanography: Methods
Modelled estimates of spatial variability of iron stress in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean
Biogeosciences, 2017, doi: 10.5194/BG-14-3883-2017
Validation and Intercomparison of Ocean Color Algorithms for Estimating Particulate Organic Carbon in the Oceans
Front. Mar. Sci., 09 August 2017 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00251
Photosynthesis versus irradiance relationships in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean
Afr. J. Mar. Sci. 2017, 39:1, 43-57, DOI: 10.2989/1814232X.2017.1303399
Submesoscale processes promote seasonal restratification in the Subantarctic Ocean
J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 122, doi:10.1002/ 2016JC012494.
Using Optical Sensors on Gliders to Estimate Phytoplankton Carbon Concentrations and Chlorophyll-to-Carbon Ratios in the Southern Ocean
Frontiers Mar. Sci. 2017. 4 (34), doi: 10.3389/fmars.2017.00034
The seasonal cycle as a mode to diagnose biases in modelled CO2 fluxes in the Southern Ocean
Ocean Modelling, Volume 106, October 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ocemod.2016.09.006
Investigation into the impact of storms on sustaining summer primary productivity in the Sub-Antarctic Ocean
Geophys. Res. Lett., 43,9192–9199, doi:10.1002/2016GL069973.
Intraseasonal variability linked to sampling alias in air-sea CO2 fluxes in the Southern Ocean
Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, doi:10.1002/2015GL066009.
High-resolution view of the spring bloom initiation and net community production in the Subantarctic Southern Ocean using glider data
ICES Journal of Marine Science, 2015, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsv105.
High-resolution view of the spring bloom initiation and net community production in the Subantarctic Southern Ocean using glider data
ICES Journal of Marine Science, 2015, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsv105
Jets & Transport of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the Drake Passage
Journal Fundamental & Applied Hydrophysics
The seasonal cycle of mixed layer characteristics and phytoplankton biomass in the Sub-Antarctic Zone: a high-resolution glider experiment.
Journal of Marine Systems, 2014. doi: 10.1016/j.jmarsys.2014.06.002.
Evidence of a southward eddy corridor in the south-west Indian ocean
Deep Sea Research II, 2014, doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2014.05.012i
The SOOS Asian Workshop: Exploring possibilities for collaboration
Advances in Polar Science, 2014, 25:138-145, doi: 10.10.13679/j.advps.2014.2.00000
The SOOS Asian Workshop on Southern Ocean research and observations
Advances in Polar Science, 2014, 25:121-125, doi: 10.10.13679/j.advps.2014.2.00121
The Sensitivity of Primary Productivity to Intra-Seasonal Mixed Layer Variability in the Sub-Antarctic Zone of the Atlantic Ocean
Biogeosciences Discussion, 2014, doi:10.5194/bgd-11-4335-2014
Surface-water iron supplies in the Southern Ocean sustained by deep winter mixing
Nature Geoscience, 2014, doi:10.1038/ngeo2101.
Wind forced variability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current south of Africa between 1993 and 2010
Journal of Geophysical Research, 2014, 119, 1123–1145, doi:10.1002/2013JC008908.
Phytoplankton Chemotaxonomy in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean during late summer 2009
Deep-Sea Research I, 2013, doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2013.04.007.
Is the southern Benguela a significant regional sink of CO2?
South African Journal of Science. 2013. 109(5/6):5. 10.1590/ sajs.2013/20120094.
Seasonal cycle of N:P:TA stoichiometry as a modulator of CO2 buffering in eastern boundary upwelling systems.
Geophysical Research Letters. 2013. 40(20):5429-5434. doi: 10.1002/2013GL058036.