The hunt is on and a predator finally zeroes in on its prey. The animal consumes the nutritious meal and moves on to forage for its next target. But how much prey does a predator need to consume?

Following a period of massive starvation among animals living along the California coast, University of California San Diego scientists began asking questions about predator sustenance and the value of prey consumption. Their investigations found that all prey are not the same, and this can have significant impacts on predator foraging. Even prey of the same size and weight within the same species can drastically vary in terms of the sustenance they provide, the study showed.

The new findings carry implications for understanding ocean food resources and the impacts that changes in these resources can have on animals that depend on them.

Former UC San Diego graduate student Stephanie Nehasil, who earned her PhD in the School of Biological Sciences, and Professor Carolyn Kurle, along with coauthors affiliated with the Southwest Fisheries Science Center (NOAA) and UC Santa Cruz, were initially interested in a mid-2010s marine heat wave that caused marine mammal and seabird starvation across the California Current Ecosystem, a rich ocean area along the West Coast that stretches for thousands of miles and supports a wide variety of sea life. These questions eventually led to a multi-year investigation of ocean food sources and the daily nourishment required for marine predators. To explore these questions, the team focused on one of the species most affected by the heat wave: the California sea lion.

The study’s results, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, revealed that members of the same species of anchovy, sardine and squid can widely vary in their energy density, which is the standard by which prey are measured in terms of assessing how much nutritional value they provide for predator subsistence. Using multiple measures of prey quality, the researchers discovered that relying on lower-quality prey can force predators to double their intake, despite being the same size as more nutritious prey.

“We were surprised by how much variation there was within a single species,” said Nehasil, now a postdoctoral researcher at Stony Brook University. “You could have two fish side-by-side that are the same size but have a huge range of variation in the amount of energy they provide. In some cases, predators would need to consume tens of thousands of the smaller, lower-quality fish to survive, and that’s just not possible.”

The new findings offer more precision for data featured in “bioenergetics” models, which are used to understand ecosystems and make key assessments of the state of marine animal populations. Previously, prey animals of the same species and similar size and weight factored the same in terms of their value to daily consumption by predators.

“This is another piece of information to help inform our models to get a better understanding of how these ecosystems work, so we can recognize subtle dynamics that might otherwise be overlooked and respond more thoughtfully to environmental shifts,” said Kurle, a faculty member in the Department of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution. “This information will help us understand the complexity of these ecosystems that so many care about, especially the fishers and others who use the ecosystem.”

In 2014 an immense heat wave in the North Pacific Ocean caused a significant disruption of the normal structure of the marine food web. The event disrupted the typical upwelling flow of nutrients from the deep ocean to the surface, thus curtailing the source of food for zooplankton, which in turn feed the fish that serve as prey and are commercially valuable for humans. A massive wave of starvation resulted that rippled through communities of marine mammals, seabirds and other species.

“We saw a lot of mortality, which led us to question whether prey abundance or availability had changed during the event,” said Nehasil. “Looking more closely at shifts at the base of the food web, we began to wonder whether it wasn’t just the amount of food that had changed, but the quality as well.”

In particular, the researchers witnessed emaciated sea lions and their pups, indicating that mother sea lions were not able to adequately feed their offspring and themselves, which initiated the researchers’ search for the underlying mechanisms.

Nehasil spent several painstaking years collecting data and measuring the energy density of specimens from a multitude of sources, including NOAA fish surveys, bait barges and samples from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. In collaboration with Ocean Discovery Institute, a nonprofit that engages youth from the underserved community of City Heights in San Diego, she also involved local students in the research, providing hands-on science experience for the next generation.

To assess the true nutritional value of northern anchovy, Pacific sardine and market squid, rather than simply measuring length and weight, she used a time-tested instrument known as a bomb calorimeter that measures the energy content of a sample. The greater the temperature change as a specimen burns, the more energy and nutritional value it holds.

The measurement data were fed into a model that estimated the energy density and content of prey collected across different oceanographic regions, seasons, sizes and maturity stages. These estimates were then used to calculate how much prey would need to be consumed to meet sea lion energetic demands, revealing vast bioenergetic differences.

“You have to use the currency of energy value to inform bioenergetics models,” said Nehasil. “To help us predict what will happen as our climate and oceans change we need this baseline ecosystem data, especially to understand prey dynamics and how predators are going to respond.”

Fish within the same species can vary widely in energy value, depending on regional ocean productivity, seasonal nutrient supply, life stage and size. While regional and seasonal differences reflect environmental conditions, variation by size and maturity is driven by how energy is allocated — either toward growth or reproduction.

“We all want to have healthy ecosystems and there are many stakeholders who want these systems to succeed. We want everyone to have the best data possible to make important analyses and estimations,” said Kurle. “Anytime we can provide a little more understanding of ecosystem complexity it’s valuable and important.”

Original Publication
Authors: Stephanie E. Nehasil, Juan P. Zwolinski, Emmanis Dorval and Carolyn M. Kurle.
Journal: Journal of Animal Ecology
DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.70155
Method of Research: Experimental study
Subject of Research: Animals
Article Title: Intraspecific variation in prey quality affects the consumption rates of top predators
Article Publication Date: 28-Oct-2025

Original Source: https://today.ucsd.edu/story/all-prey-are-not-the-same-marine-predators-face-uneven-nutritional-payoffs

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“Faults can be found almost everywhere. Faults in the shallow subsurface are usually  stable, so we do not expect shock movements to occur along them”, says Dr Ylona van Dinther, who supervised the research. Nevertheless, shock movements often do occur in the stable first few kilometres of the subsurface. In such instances, we generally find a correlation with human activities. What exactly explains that paradox of shallow faults, which become stronger with movement, but then suddenly become weak and are subsequently released with a tremor?

Inactive faults heal slowly

Induced earthquakes (those caused by human activities) often take place on inactive faults that have not moved for millions of years. Although these faults do not move, we still observe a very slow growth of the surface that connects them. This sort of ‘fault healing’ gives rise to additional strength. It is this extra fault strength that can cause an acceleration once a fault has been set in motion. This acceleration is what causes earthquakes to occur in stable subsurfaces, despite textbooks telling us that this ought not to happen there.

Shallow

As such areas do not have a history of earthquakes, the people living there are more at risk as infrastructure has not been built to withstand earthquakes. “Furthermore, these earthquakes take place at a depth where human activities occur, in other words, no more than several kilometres deep. That is considerably less deep than the majority of natural earthquakes.” Therefore, they can be more hazardous and cause more ground shaking.

Lack of recurrence reduces earthquake risk

Interestingly, this potential acceleration, in the form of an earthquake, occurs only once. As soon as that extra fault strength, which has been built up over millions of years, finds a way out, the situation becomes stable again. “As a result, there is no more earthquake activity at that spot”, states Van Dinther. “This means that, although the subsurface in such areas will not settle immediately after human operations stop, the strength of the earthquakes — including the maximum expected magnitude — will gradually decrease.” If faults do indeed become stronger when they move, then these already broken pieces will quietly slip past each other, and in doing so, act as a barrier. That makes it harder for earthquakes to increase in size. This makes it possible to lower the estimated risk of an earthquake, as this risk is primarily determined by the maximum magnitude of an earthquake.

Lessons learned for future sustainable subsurface use

These findings also have important implications for the future use of the subsurface. On the one hand, earthquakes, contrary to what was previously assumed, can indeed occur on faults in more stable subsurfaces. However, these earthquakes only occur once on a single fault. Subsequently, the situation becomes safer once the fault has moved, whether through an earthquake or gradual slipping. That being the case, we need to gain a deeper understanding of the behaviour of faults (will they accelerate or slow down?), the role of fault healing, and how this translates into movements on the fault. Then we will also be able to better estimate and anticipate one-off risks, and improve how we communicate this information. Utrecht University is already taking the first steps in this direction with new calculation models.

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Utrecht University
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Utrecht University
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Expanding the Tree of Life

Formally recognized as new species through morphological and genetic analysis, this discovery expands the already impressive global diversity of bats.

“This latest research serves to illustrate how much remains unknown about the countless species with which we coexist,” says Dr. Judith Eger, Curator Emeritus of Mammals at ROM. “Expanding our knowledge of biodiversity is essential to understanding and managing our environment on behalf of humanity and the other species on which the vitality of our planet depends.”

A Blend of Science and Folklore

While Halloween celebrations in the Philippines are relatively modest compared to North America, bats hold a unique place in Filipino folklore. The mythical aswang, a shape-shifting creature from local legends, is said to have been inspired by flying fox bats—the world’s largest bats. Globally, bats occupy various symbolic roles, representing good luck in China, fortune in India, and even deities in Guatemala and Mexico.

Revealing Hidden Diversity

“I’m astonished at how much we still don’t know about the natural world, such as how many bat species there are,” says Dr. Burton Lim, Assistant Curator of Mammals at ROM. “Before we started our research, there were only two species of tube-nosed bats reported from the Philippines. We confirmed the presence of one of those species, plus another closely related species previously unknown to science. The other previously reported species was actually not present in the Philippines, but we did find five new species that were masquerading as it!”

The six newly named species — Murina alvarezi, Murina baletei, Murina hilonghilong, Murina luzonensis, Murina mindorensis, and Murina philippinensis — were identified through careful comparisons of tooth patterns, skull shapes, fur coloration, and genetic sequences conducted in ROM’s Laboratory of Molecular Systematics.

Importance of Bat Biodiversity

Bats are found on every continent except Antarctica and serve crucial ecological functions such as insect control, pollination, and seed dispersal. The tube-nosed bats (genus Murina) of Asia rely heavily on forest habitats, making them particularly vulnerable to deforestation.
The Philippines, a biodiversity hotspot composed of thousands of islands, was already home to 79 known bat species—a number that now rises with this discovery.

A Legacy of Research and Discovery

The ROM’s extensive bat collection, one of the world’s largest, includes dried skins, skeletal remains, ethanol-preserved samples, and over 15,000 frozen tissue specimens from 30 countries. This resource has been vital in revealing how Philippine Murina bats differ from their Southeast Asian relatives.
The team’s findings are now published in Zootaxa, an international journal of animal taxonomy, and corresponding genetic data have been archived in GenBank for future research.

“It has been a long and slow process of discovery, but these six previously unknown species show clearly just how wonderfully extensive Philippine biodiversity is,” says Dr. Lawrence Heaney, Curator Emeritus of Mammals at the Field Museum. “On a per-unit-area basis, the Philippines has the most distinctive mammal fauna of any country worldwide.”

Years in the Making

The specimens, all small bats weighing between 4 and 14 grams, were collected over decades of expeditions led by the Field Museum, in collaboration with the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Protected Area Management Boards.

“These bats are notoriously elusive, so the tube-nosed bat collection this study examined was cobbled together over many years, expeditions, and memorable experiences – one bat at a time,” says Dr. Jodi Sedlock, co-author and Dennis and Charlot Nelson Singleton Professor of Biological Sciences at Lawrence University. “As a result, it’s deeply satisfying to see our collection make such an important contribution to Philippine biodiversity studies. I’m eager to learn what these newly described tube-nosed bats each do with their tube-like nostrils that, presumably, offer them directional smell detection. Describing them is an essential beginning, but there’s still so much to learn!”

Honoring the Scientists Who Came Before

The Field Museum has been conducting collaborative fieldwork in the Philippines for over 30 years as part of the Philippine Mammal Project. Reference specimens (holotypes) from the study are now housed at the National Museum of the Philippines.

Two of the new species honor late Filipino scientists:

• Murina alvarezi, named for James Alvarez, a young bat biologist who tragically died during fieldwork in 2018.
• Murina baletei, named in memory of Danilo “Danny” Balete, a respected biodiversity scientist and long-time collaborator on the Philippine Mammal Project.
  

Original Publication
Authors: JUDITH L. EGER, JODI L. SEDLOCK, BURTON K. LIM and LAWRENCE R. HEANEY.
Journal: Zootaxa
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5691.1.1
Subject of Research: Animals
Article Title: Systematics and biogeography of tube-nosed bats, Murina (Mammalia, Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae), from the Philippines with descriptions of six new species
Article Publication Date: 8-Sep-2025

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The study, conducted by an international team of scientists led by Excellent O. Eboigbe and David McLagan at Queens University, and Abiodun Odukoya Mary at the University of Lagos, focused on a farming community in Nigeria situated near an artisanal and small-scale gold mining site. The researchers compared crops from a field located 500 meters from the ASGM site with those grown 8 kilometres away. The contrast was striking mercury concentrations in leaves and grains were approximately 10-50 times higher in the farm closer to the mining site.

For decades, scientists have assumed that mercury enters food crops primarily via the roots, after leaching into the soil or water. But this new research, using sophisticated mercury stable isotope analyses, reveals a very different mechanism at work. Most of the mercury found in plant tissues came from the atmosphere, taken up through leaves during photosynthesis. In short: plants are breathing in mercury. David McLagan states that:

““Mercury uptake by plants from air represents the largest sink of mercury from air to terrestrial [land and freshwater] systems. While this critical ecosystem service helps reduce the amount of mercury being globally redistributed through the atmosphere, it raises human health concerns when it is staple crops that are the mechanism stripping the air of mercury.”“

The research team found that leafy plant parts, which are often consumed by humans and livestock, retained the highest mercury concentrations. Edible, non-leafy parts of the plants, like cassava roots or maize kernels, had lower concentrations yet still showed significant contamination. While levels remained below international mercury consumption thresholds, the authors warn that there could still be health concerns when consuming mercury contaminated crops near ASGM sites, as international standards employed conservative crop consumption rates, and that even greater contamination of air, soils, and crops have been observed in other studies. This is especially relevant in communities dependent on local agriculture for survival.

Used to extract gold from raw ore, Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin. Long-term exposure, even at low levels, can damage the nervous system, impair cognitive development in children, and cause serious cardiovascular and reproductive problems. Due to its frequent use in artisanal and small-scale mining operations, vulnerable populations in low-income rural areas are at higher risk.

“” Miners will not stop using mercury for gold extraction unless they get a readily available alternative that is also cost-effective.” Said Odukoya Abiodun Mary“

ASGM is now the largest source of mercury emissions globally, according to the UN Environment Programme. Yet regulation and monitoring are limited in many parts of the Global South, where ASGM is often an economic lifeline for communities facing poverty and displacement. This study pushes a critical but overlooked consequence of that boom to the forefront: food systems are being contaminated, quietly and invisibly, by elevated levels of mercury in the air.

The research is also a call to action for governments and international organizations tasked with enforcing the ‘Minamata Convention on Mercury’. Current monitoring strategies focus largely on water bodies, sediment, and seafood, not crops. This study shows those efforts are missing a key vector of exposure.

““Due to the toxicity of bioaccumulation and biomagnification potential of methylmercury, fish consumption in ASGM areas has been a major focus of epidemiological research in ASGM areas. Yet this work demonstrates that there are other dietary sources of mercury, and mercury from these different sources can have cumulative effects.”“

The study concludes that new policies are urgently needed to monitor and mitigate airborne mercury exposure in agricultural regions near mining activities. Considering the rapid growth of artisanal and small-scale gold mining, millions of people across Africa, South America, and Asia may be facing long-term health risks from something as simple and essential as growing and consuming local foods.

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European Geosciences Union

Email: media@egu.eu

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The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is Europe’s premier geosciences union, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the Earth, planetary, and space sciences for the benefit of humanity, worldwide. It is a non-profit interdisciplinary learned association of scientists founded in 2002 with headquarters in Munich, Germany. The EGU publishes a number of diverse scientific journals that use an innovative open access format and organises topical meetings plus education and outreach activities. Its annual General Assembly is the largest and most prominent European geosciences event, attracting more than 20,000 scientists from all over the world. The meeting’s sessions cover a wide range of topics, including volcanology, planetary exploration, the Earth’s internal structure and atmosphere, climate, energy, and resources.

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Original Publication
Authors: Excellent O. Eboigbe, Nimelan Veerasamy, Abiodun M. Odukoya, Nnamdi C. Anene, Jeroen E. Sonke, Sayuri Sagisaka Méndez and David S. McLagan.
DOI: 10.5194/bg-22-5591-2025
Subject of Research: Not applicable
Article Title: Mercury contamination in staple crops impacted by Artisanal Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM): Stable Hg isotopes demonstrate dominance of atmospheric uptake pathway for Hg in crops
Article Publication Date: 20-Oct-2025

Original Source: https://www.egu.eu/news/1510/invisible-poison-airborne-mercury-from-gold-mining-is-contaminating-african-food-crops-new-study-warns/

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When the volcanic island of Surtsey rose from the North Atlantic Ocean in 1963, it offered scientists a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to observe how life takes hold on a brand-new and barren land. For decades, ecologists believed that plants’ ability to reach remote and isolated places depended mainly on special adaptations for long-distance dispersal — for example, fleshy fruits thought to attract birds, which would eat the fruit and later disperse the seeds — giving those species a decisive advantage in colonising new areas.

A new study published in Ecology Letters challenges this long-standing view. Researchers from Iceland, Hungary, and Spain found that most of the 78 vascular plant species that have colonised Surtsey since 1965 lack any of the traits traditionally associated with long-distance dispersal. Instead, gulls, geese, and shorebirds have played the leading role in bringing seeds to the island — carrying them in their guts or droppings. In doing so, birds have transported a wide range of plant species, laying the foundations for Surtsey’s developing ecosystem.

“Birds turned out to be the true pioneers of Surtsey — carrying seeds of plants that, according to conventional theories, shouldn’t be able to get there,” says Dr. Pawel Wasowicz of the Natural Science Institute of Iceland, one of the study’s authors. “These results overturn traditional assumptions about plant colonisation and show that to understand how life spreads and responds to environmental change, we must look at the interactions between plants and animals. Life does not move in isolation — it follows life.”

Dr. Andy Green from the Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC, Spain), who co-led the research, adds:

“Our findings have far-reaching implications for ecology and conservation. Animals — especially birds — are key drivers of plant dispersal and colonisation. As migration routes shift under a warming climate, birds will play a vital role in helping plants move and adapt to new environments.”

The study underscores the exceptional importance of Surtsey as a natural laboratory, where scientists can observe the fundamental processes of life — how ecosystems emerge, evolve, and respond to environmental change. It calls for new ecological models that account for real biological interactions rather than relying solely on seed traits or taxonomic classifications.

“Long-term research like that carried out on Surtsey is invaluable for biology,” says Dr. Wasowicz. “It allows us to witness ecological processes that would otherwise remain invisible — how life colonises, evolves, and adapts. Such work is essential for understanding the future of ecosystems in a rapidly changing world.”

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Natural Science Institute of Iceland
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Estación Biológica de Doñana
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Climate models suggest that climate change could reduce the Southern Ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide (CO₂). However, observational data actually shows that this ability has seen no significant decline in recent decades. In a recent study, researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute have discovered what may be causing this. Low-salinity water in the upper ocean has typically helped to trap carbon in the deep ocean, which in turn has slowed its release into the atmosphere – until now, that is, because climate change is increasingly altering the Southern Ocean and its function as a carbon sink. The study is published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Oceans absorb around a quarter of all anthropogenic CO₂ emissions released into the atmosphere. Of this total, the Southern Ocean alone stores roughly 40 per cent, making it a key region for containing global warming. The Southern Ocean’s important role comes about due to the ocean circulation in the region, whereby water masses upwell from deeper levels, are renewed and then return to the depths. This process releases natural CO₂ from the deep ocean and absorbs and stores anthropogenic CO₂ from the atmosphere. How well the Southern Ocean is able to absorb anthropogenic CO₂ depends on how much natural CO₂ comes to the surface from the deep ocean: the more natural CO₂ that rises to the surface from the deeper levels, the less anthropogenic CO₂ the Southern Ocean is able to absorb. This process is controlled by ocean circulation and the stratification of different water masses.

The water that upwells from the depths in the Southern Ocean is extremely old, having not been at the surface for hundreds or thousands of years. Over time, it has accumulated large amounts of CO₂ which naturally return to the surface through the upwelling process. Model studies show that strengthening westerly winds, caused by climate change, will cause more and more of this CO₂-rich deep water to rise to the surface. In the long term, this would reduce the Southern Ocean’s capacity to absorb human-made CO₂. However, contrary to climate model projections, observational data from recent decades has shown no reduction in its capacity as a CO₂ sink. A new study from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) now provides an explanation as to why, despite strengthening westerly winds, the Southern Ocean has continued to act as a CO₂ sink in recent decades and therefore been able to slow down climate change.

“Deep water in the Southern Ocean is normally found below 200 metres,” says Dr. Léa Olivier, AWI oceanographer and lead author of the study. “It is salty, nutrient-rich and relatively warm compared to water nearer the surface.” The deep water contains a large amount of dissolved CO₂ that entered the deep ocean from the surface a long time ago. Near-surface water, on the other hand, is less salty, colder and contains less CO₂. As long as the density stratification between deep and surface water remains intact, CO₂ from the deeper layers cannot easily rise to the surface.

Cold, low-salinity water keeps carbon-rich water contained – however, climate change brings CO₂ dangerously close to the surface

“Previous studies suggested that global climate change would strengthen the westerly winds over the Southern Ocean, and with that, the overturning circulation too,” says Léa Olivier. “However, that would transport more carbon-rich water from the deep ocean to the surface, which would consequently reduce the Southern Ocean’s ability to store CO₂.” Although strengthening winds have already been observed and attributed to human-made change in recent modelling and observational studies, there is no evidence pointing to the Southern Ocean absorbing less CO₂ – at least at this point.

Long-term observations by the AWI and other international research institutes suggest that climate change may be affecting the properties of surface and deep water masses. “In our study, we used a dataset comprising biogeochemical data from a large number of marine expeditions in the Southern Ocean between 1972 and 2021. We looked for long-term anomalies, as well as changes in both circulation patterns and the properties of water masses. In doing so, we only considered processes related to the exchange between the two water masses, namely circulation and mixing, and not biological processes, for example,” explains Léa Olivier. “We were able to determine that, since the 1990s, the two water masses have become more distinct from one another.” The Southern Ocean’s surface water salinity has reduced as a result of increased input of freshwater caused by precipitation and melting glaciers and sea ice. This “freshening” reinforces the density stratification between the two water masses, which in turn keeps the CO₂-rich deep water trapped in the lower layer and prevents it from breaking through the barrier between the two layers.

“Our study shows that this fresher surface water has temporarily offset the weakening of the carbon sink in the Southern Ocean, as model simulations predicted. However, this situation could reverse if the stratification were to weaken,” summarises Léa Olivier. There is a risk of this happening, as the strengthening westerly winds push the deep water ever closer to the surface. Since the 1990s, the upper boundary of the deep water mass has shifted roughly 40 metres closer to the surface, where CO₂-rich water is increasingly replacing the low-salinity winter surface water. As the transition layer between surface and deep water moves closer to the surface it becomes more susceptible to mixing, which could be primarily caused by the strengthening westerly winds. Such mixing would release the CO₂ that had accumulated beneath the surface water layer.

A recently published study suggests that this process may have already begun. The result would be that more CO₂-rich deep water could reach the surface, which would in turn reduce the Southern Ocean’s capacity to absorb anthropogenic CO₂ and therefore further drive climate change. “What surprised me most was that we actually found the answer to our question beneath the surface. “We need to look beyond just the ocean’s surface, otherwise we run the risk of missing a key part of the story,” says Léa Olivier. “To confirm whether more CO₂ has been released from the deep ocean in recent years, we need additional data, particularly from the winter months, when the water masses tend to mix,” explains Prof. Alexander Haumann, co-author of the study. “In the coming years, the AWI is planning to carefully examine these exact processes as part of the international Antarctica InSync programme, and gain a better understanding of the effects of climate change on the Southern Ocean and potential interactions.“

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