The University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa is in a prime location to conduct oceanographic research and features a wealth of scientific expertise. However, as in many institutions, the pool of
Earth & Environment
Ocean Sciences
In the UN Ocean Decade, explore this PLOS ONE and PLOS Climate Collection to discover a selection of notable ocean sciences publications that highlight the innovative research conducted in this field and the strong commitment of the community to Open Science. We are proud that our journals provide a venue for sharing critical insights and advances right across this field of study, from the impact of marine heatwaves to the use of eDNA barcoding, and from investigations of ocean microplastics to studies of the effect of ocean acidification on coral reefs.
From the Blog
PLOS Climate
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PLOS Climate The recent normalization of historical marine heat extremes
Climate change exposes marine ecosystems to extreme conditions with increasing frequency. Capitalizing on the global reconstruction of sea…
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PLOS Climate Future loss of local-scale thermal refugia in coral reef ecosystems
Thermal refugia underpin climate-smart management of coral reefs, but whether current thermal refugia will remain so under future warming…
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PLOS Climate A century of warming on Caribbean reefs
The world’s oceans are warming at an unprecedented rate, causing dramatic changes to coastal marine systems, especially coral reefs. We…
PLOS ONE
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PLOS ONE The Southern Ocean diatom Pseudo-nitzschia subcurvata flourished better under simulated glacial than interglacial ocean conditions: Combined effects of CO2 and iron
The ‘Iron Hypothesis’ suggests a fertilization of the Southern Ocean by increased dust deposition in glacial times. This promoted high…
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PLOS ONE Impact of paleoclimate on present and future evolution of the Greenland Ice Sheet
Using transient climate forcing based on simulations from the Alfred Wegener Institute Earth System Model (AWI-ESM), we simulate the…
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PLOS ONE Incorporation of uncertainty to improve projections of tidal wetland elevation and carbon accumulation with sea-level rise
Understanding the rates and patterns of tidal wetland elevation changes relative to sea-level is essential for understanding the extent of…
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PLOS ONE Marine communities of the newly created Kawésqar National Reserve, Chile: From glaciers to the Pacific Ocean
The newly created Kawésqar National Park (KNP) and National Reserve (KNR) in southern Chile consists of diverse terrestrial and marine…
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PLOS ONE Effects of sea ice and wind speed on phytoplankton spring bloom in central and southern Baltic Sea
In this study, the effects of sea ice and wind speed on the timing and composition of phytoplankton spring bloom in the central and…
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PLOS ONE Cell carbon content and biomass assessments of dinoflagellates and diatoms in the oceanic ecosystem of the Southern Gulf of Mexico
This study assessed the cell carbon content and biomass for genera of dinoflagellates and diatoms in the oceanic ecosystem of the Southern…
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PLOS ONE Bacterial precursors and unsaturated long-chain fatty acids are biomarkers of North-Atlantic deep-sea demosponges
Sponges produce distinct fatty acids (FAs) that (potentially) can be used as chemotaxonomic and ecological biomarkers to study…
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PLOS ONE Coral calcification responses to the North Atlantic Oscillation and coral bleaching in Bermuda
The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has been hypothesized to drive interannual variability in Bermudan coral extension rates and…
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PLOS ONE Decadal variability and recent summer warming amplification of the sea surface temperature in the Red Sea
Under climate change, regional Sea Surface Temperature (SST) changes are a crucial factor affecting marine ecosystems, which thrive only…
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PLOS ONE Seasonal and latitudinal variations in sea ice algae deposition in the Northern Bering and Chukchi Seas determined by algal biomarkers
An assessment of the production, distribution and fate of highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) biomarkers produced by sea ice and pelagic…
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PLOS ONE Plasticity of adult coralline algae to prolonged increased temperature and pCO2 exposure but reduced survival in their first generation
Crustose coralline algae (CCA) are vital to coral reefs worldwide, providing structural integrity and inducing the settlement of important…
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PLOS ONE Diel, daily, and spatial variation of coral reef seawater microbial communities
Reef organisms influence microorganisms within the surrounding seawater, yet the spatial and temporal dynamics of seawater microbial…
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PLOS ONE Persistent El Niño driven shifts in marine cyanobacteria populations
In the California Current Ecosystem, El Niño acts as a natural phenomenon that is partially representative of climate change impacts on…
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PLOS ONE Resolution dependency of sinking Lagrangian particles in ocean general circulation models
Any type of non-buoyant material in the ocean is transported horizontally by currents during its sinking journey. This lateral transport…
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PLOS ONE Towards a global understanding of the drivers of marine and terrestrial biodiversity
Understanding the distribution of life’s variety has driven naturalists and scientists for centuries, yet this has been constrained both…
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PLOS ONE A multi-decadal record of oceanographic changes of the past ~165 years (1850-2015 AD) from Northwest of Iceland
Extending oceanographic data beyond the instrumental period is highly needed to better characterize and understand multi-decadal to…
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PLOS ONE Divergence of photosynthetic strategies amongst marine diatoms
Marine phytoplankton, and in particular diatoms, are responsible for almost half of all primary production on Earth. Diatom species thrive…
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PLOS ONE Extent of the annual Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone influences microbial community structure
Rich geochemical datasets generated over the past 30 years have provided fine-scale resolution on the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM)…
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PLOS ONE From In Situ to satellite observations of pelagic Sargassum distribution and aggregation in the Tropical North Atlantic Ocean
The present study reports on observations carried out in the Tropical North Atlantic in summer and autumn 2017, documenting Sargassum…
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PLOS ONE Fe limitation decreases transcriptional regulation over the diel cycle in the model diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana
Iron (Fe) is an important growth factor for diatoms and its availability is further restricted by changes in the carbonate chemistry of…
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PLOS ONE The optical and biological properties of glacial meltwater in an Antarctic fjord
As the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) region responds to a warmer climate, the impacts of glacial meltwater on the Southern Ocean are…
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PLOS ONE Genetic and morphological divergence in the warm-water planktonic foraminifera genus Globigerinoides
The planktonic foraminifera genus Globigerinoides provides a prime example of a species-rich genus in which genetic and morphological…
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PLOS ONE Impacts of urban carbon dioxide emissions on sea-air flux and ocean acidification in nearshore waters
Greatly enhanced atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels relative to well-mixed marine air are observed during periods of offshore winds…
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PLOS ONE High colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption in surface waters of the central-eastern Arctic Ocean: Implications for biogeochemistry and ocean color algorithms
As consequences of global warming sea-ice shrinking, permafrost thawing and changes in fresh water and terrestrial material export have…
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PLOS ONE Taking the metabolic pulse of the world’s coral reefs
Worldwide, coral reef ecosystems are experiencing increasing pressure from a variety of anthropogenic perturbations including ocean…
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PLOS ONE Linking deep convection and phytoplankton blooms in the northern Labrador Sea in a changing climate
Wintertime convective mixing plays a pivotal role in the sub-polar North Atlantic spring phytoplankton blooms by favoring phytoplankton…
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PLOS ONE Production of methane and ethylene from plastic in the environment
Mass production of plastics started nearly 70 years ago and the production rate is expected to double over the next two decades. While…
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PLOS ONE Elevated pCO2 enhances bacterioplankton removal of organic carbon
Factors that affect the removal of organic carbon by heterotrophic bacterioplankton can impact the rate and magnitude of organic carbon…
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PLOS ONE A pivotal role for ocean eddies in the distribution of microbial communities across the Antarctic Circumpolar Current
Mesoscale variability and associated eddy fluxes play crucial roles in ocean circulation dynamics and the ecology of the upper ocean. In…
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PLOS ONE Contrasting seasonal drivers of virus abundance and production in the North Pacific Ocean
The North Pacific Ocean (between approximately 0°N and 50°N) contains the largest continuous ecosystem on Earth. This region plays a vital…
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PLOS ONE The use of mesoscale eddies by juvenile loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the southwestern Atlantic
Marine animals, such as turtles, seabirds and pelagic fishes, are observed to travel and congregate around eddies in the open ocean.…
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PLOS ONE Understanding large-scale, long-term larval connectivity patterns: The case of the Northern Line Islands in the Central Pacific Ocean
Protecting key hotspots of marine biodiversity is essential to maintain ecosystem services at large spatial scales. Protected areas serve…
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PLOS ONE Aged dissolved organic carbon exported from rivers of the Tibetan Plateau
The role played by river networks in regional and global carbon cycle is receiving increasing attention. Despite the potential of…
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PLOS ONE Carbonate Production by Benthic Communities on Shallow Coralgal Reefs of Abrolhos Bank, Brazil
The abundance of reef builders, non-builders and the calcium carbonate produced by communities established in Calcification Accretion…
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PLOS ONE Changes in the Floating Plastic Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea in Relation to the Distance to Land
The composition, size distribution, and abundance of floating plastic debris in surface waters of the Mediterranean Sea were analyzed in…
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PLOS ONE The Growth Response of Two Diatom Species to Atmospheric Dust from the Last Glacial Maximum
Relief of iron (Fe) limitation in the surface Southern Ocean has been suggested as one driver of the regular glacial-interglacial cycles…
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PLOS ONE Interactions between Thermal Acclimation, Growth Rate, and Phylogeny Influence Prochlorococcus Elemental Stoichiometry
Variability in plankton elemental requirements can be important for global ocean biogeochemistry but we currently have a limited…
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PLOS ONE Future Coastal Population Growth and Exposure to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Flooding – A Global Assessment
Coastal zones are exposed to a range of coastal hazards including sea-level rise with its related effects. At the same time, they are more…
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PLOS ONE Paleoceanographic Insights on Recent Oxygen Minimum Zone Expansion: Lessons for Modern Oceanography
Climate-driven Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) expansions in the geologic record provide an opportunity to characterize the spatial and temporal…
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PLoS ONE Plastic Pollution in the World’s Oceans: More than 5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighing over 250,000 Tons Afloat at Sea
Plastic pollution is ubiquitous throughout the marine environment, yet estimates of the global abundance and weight of floating plastics…
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PLoS ONE The Distribution of Dissolved Iron in the West Atlantic Ocean
Iron (Fe) is an essential trace element for marine life. Extremely low Fe concentrations limit primary production and nitrogen fixation in…
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PLoS ONE Using Environmental DNA to Census Marine Fishes in a Large Mesocosm
The ocean is a soup of its resident species' genetic material, cast off in the forms of metabolic waste, shed skin cells, or damaged…
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PLoS ONE Stimulated Bacterial Growth under Elevated pCO2: Results from an Off-Shore Mesocosm Study
Marine bacteria are the main consumers of freshly produced organic matter. Many enzymatic processes involved in the bacterial digestion of…
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PLoS ONE Predicted Deep-Sea Coral Habitat Suitability for the U.S. West Coast
Regional scale habitat suitability models provide finer scale resolution and more focused predictions of where organisms may occur.…
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PLoS ONE Marine Phytoplankton Temperature versus Growth Responses from Polar to Tropical Waters – Outcome of a Scientific Community-Wide Study
“It takes a village to finish (marine) science these days”Paraphrased from Curtis Huttenhower (the Human Microbiome project)The rapidity…
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PLoS ONE Rogue Waves: From Nonlinear Schrödinger Breather Solutions to Sea-Keeping Test
Under suitable assumptions, the nonlinear dynamics of surface gravity waves can be modeled by the one-dimensional nonlinear…
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PLoS ONE Long-Term Trends of Nutrients and Apparent Oxygen Utilization South of the Polar Front in Southern Ocean Intermediate Water from 1965 to 2008
The variation of nutrients over decadal timescales south of the polar front in the Southern Ocean is poorly known because of a lack of…
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PLoS ONE Invasive Lionfish Drive Atlantic Coral Reef Fish Declines
Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans and P. miles) have spread swiftly across the Western Atlantic, producing a marine predator…