Synoptic maps of total ocean surface currents from space are needed to improve parameterisations of oceanic submesoscale dynamics and represent their impact on global ocean circulation, air-sea exchanges and the marine ecosystem. Wavemill is a hybrid interferometric SAR instrument that seeks to deliver high-resolution high-accuracy maps of ocean surface current vectors. It measures the total oc...

For many species, there is broad-scale dispersal of juvenile stages and/or long-distance migration of individuals and hence the processes that drive these various wide-ranging movements have important life-history consequences. Sea turtles are one of these paradigmatic long-distance travellers, with hatchlings thought to be dispersed by ocean currents and adults often shuttling between distant ...

range boundaries in these systems (Gaylord and Gaines 2000, Kinlan and Gaines 2003). In the case of marine biogeographic boundaries, the effects of temperature and currents are hard to separate because changes in the ocean circulation are often associated with abrupt changes in temperature. New insights to separate the effects of correlated environmental factors on species distributions can be ...

Biogeography studies that correlate the observed distribution of organisms to environmental variables are typically based on local conditions. However, in cases with substantial translocation, like planktonic organisms carried by ocean currents, selection may happen upstream and local environmental factors may not be representative of those that shaped the local population. Here we use an indiv...

Explaining spatial patterns of biological organisation remains a central challenge for biogeographic studies. In marine systems, large-scale ocean currents can modify broad-scale biological patterns by simultaneously connecting environmental (e.g. temperature, salinity and nutrients) and biological (e.g. amounts and types of dispersed propagules) properties of adjacent and distant regions. For ...

The ocean circulation and its fluctuations are known to have important consequences for climate variations. It is believed that the datively rapid swings of global temperatures (over 10 degree change in less than 30-50 years) in the past interglacial period is primarily associated with changes in the global ocean circulation which regulates the transport of water, heat, and carbon dioxide in th...

www.physicstoday.org Light drives the physics, chemistry, and biology of the ocean. Without light in the ocean, life on Earth could not exist, nor would there be fuel for the heat engine that drives the ocean’s currents and the atmosphere’s circulation. Furthermore, light and sound are the two primary means available for probing the ocean. (See the article by Tom Sanford, Kathie Kelly, and Davi...

We explore the potential of computing coastal ocean surface currents from ModerateResolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) satellite imagery using the maximum cross-correlation (MCC) method. To improve on past versions of this method, we evaluate combining MODIS and VIIRS thermal infrared (IR) and ocean color (OC) imagery to map the coas...

Tropical cyclone ocean–wave model interactions are examined using an ESMF – (Earth System Modeling Framework) based tropical cyclone (TC) version of the Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS ). This study investigates Hurricane Ivan, which traversed the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) in September 2004. Several oceanic and wave observational data sets, including Acoustic Doppler Cur...