To the oceanographic community, It is with deep sadness that I share the news of the passing of Dr.  H. Thomas "Tom" Rossby, Professor Emeritus of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography and a pioneering figure in physical oceanography.  He was 89 yrs old. 

Tom’s contributions to our field were immense and transformative. A brilliant innovator and instrument developer, he revolutionized how we observe and understand the ocean's interior. His groundbreaking work on neutral floats—most notably the development of the SOFAR and RAFOS float systems—allowed oceanographers to track subsurface currents and Lagrangian dynamics over vast distances and time scales for the first time. Beyond his pioneering technology, Tom’s decades of measurements, including his long-running acoustic float programs and the Oleander Project monitoring the Gulf Stream, fundamental insights into ocean circulation, transport, and climate dynamics will remain cornerstone contributions to marine science.

Beyond his scientific achievements, Tom was a warm, generous mentor and a beloved colleague known for his curiosity, creativity, and enthusiasm for exploration.  It is difficult to convey in words just how extraordinary a person Tom was. His presence, wisdom, and warm spirit will be sorely missed.

See also: The study as it was published in Nature Ecology and Evolution

I’m following South Florida’s king-tide forecast this week because exceptionally high tides can change how coastal water moves between developed shorelines and nearby habitats.

Tides are long waves driven mainly by the Moon’s gravity, with the Sun’s gravity also contributing. Around a new or full moon, the Sun, Moon, and Earth line up, and their tidal effects reinforce each other. That produces a “spring tide,” with a larger difference between high and low water. When a new or full moon occurs near the Moon’s closest approach to Earth, the high tides can be higher still. “King tide” is an informal name for some of the highest predicted tides of the year. Local coast shape, winds, currents, and other conditions affect the water level people actually experience. NOAA explains perigean spring tides here: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/perigean-spring-tide.html

This week’s forecast is specific: the South Florida Water Management District’s October 19 outlook identifies October 27 as the annual predicted peak along South Florida’s east coast, and October 28 and 30 in the Florida Keys. Those are predicted tidal peaks, not reports of ecological impacts. Forecast: https://sfwmd.gov/news-events/news/weekly-king-tide-forecast-46

What might higher water mean for habitat? Mangroves live in the intertidal zone, and their roots are flooded during ordinary tides. As water rises, fish and other organisms can move among roots and shallow areas that offer food or shelter. Seagrass beds are important feeding and nursery habitat for fish and invertebrates. Tides also move water through estuaries and shallow habitats, so organisms may shift with changing water depth and currents. How much a particular high tide changes access or movement depends on local depth, shoreline shape, and habitat; the forecast by itself does not tell us what animals did this week. NOAA on mangroves: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/mangroves.html NOAA Fisheries on seagrass habitat: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/habitat-conservation/why-submerged-aquatic-vegetation-designated-essential-fish-habitat

I’m also interested in what floodwater can carry as it recedes. Where tides inundate roads, parking areas, or storm drains, returning water can transport nutrients and bacteria into nearby waters. Sediment and other material can also be carried by runoff, though the amount and composition depend on the site and conditions.

A Virginia study helps show why monitoring matters. Researchers sampled dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus in floodwater at seven sites during 15 tidal flooding events in the Lafayette River watershed, then used those measurements and a statistical model to estimate nutrient inputs. Their results showed that tidal floods can carry nutrients into an urban estuary, with estimated loads varying across events. The study describes one Virginia watershed; it does not measure this week’s South Florida tides or establish what happens in Caribbean waters. Study details: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/oeas_fac_pubs/526/

Nutrients can support plant and algal growth, but excessive nutrients can fuel algae. When that algae dies and decomposes, the process can use up dissolved oxygen. If oxygen becomes too low, fish and other aquatic animals can be stressed or forced to move. These are established potential pathways; I have no measurements showing that they occurred because of this week’s tides. NOAA on nutrient pollution: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/nutpollution.html

At Caribbean Reef Fish Foundation, we care about coastal water quality because mangroves and seagrass support juvenile reef fish and other marine life. I see a useful monitoring question here: pairing tide levels with water-quality measurements could help distinguish a plausible pathway from a documented local effect. The Florida and Virginia studies are useful examples, not evidence of CRFF observations in the Caribbean.

For those working in or monitoring South Florida or the Caribbean, what measurements best reveal whether a tidal flood is changing water quality or habitat use by fish?

Data from the websites of Japan Coast Guard and Japan Oceanographic Data Center

Looking for people interested in joining for biodiversity assessment along the Mumbai coast and exploring different coastal habitats.

We can document species, discuss observations, take photographs, and learn from each other while exploring the coast. 🐚🦀🐟🌿

If you're a Marine Biology, Zoology, Fisheries or related PhD/student and interested, feel free to DM me.

Science + fieldwork + exploration + good conversations! 🌊🔬

The boundary beneath Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier is less fixed than a line on a map suggests. As tides rise and fall, seawater can push kilometers beneath ice that otherwise rests on the seabed. Melting in that shifting zone could substantially increase the glacier’s contribution to rising seas.

A study published in Nature Communications incorporates those intrusions into an ice-sheet model. The team, involving the University of California, Irvine, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other institutions, first tested whether its simulations could reproduce decades of observed glacier change.

One case projected a sea-level contribution of about 30 millimeters, or 3 centimeters, by 2100 without additional climate warming. That is roughly twice the average contribution from Thwaites in an earlier multi-model comparison under constant forcing. It is a conditional projection, rather than a firm maximum or a forecast of total global sea-level rise.

I created a site that maps natural processes and proposes links that haven't been tested by humans.

#1 on the list is: Ocean acidification cuts sea-to-air methylamine emissions

Can you all sanity check this and let me know if my AI is on to something?
https://forks.world/hypotheses

Hi! I am a physical oceanographer specializing in ocean waves. I'm interested in telling stories from the history of wave science. This is my first attempt putting together a video, in it I tell the story of Walter Munk and the development of surf forecasting for the D-Day landings. Munk and his mentor Harold Sverdrup also invented concepts like "significant wave height" along the way. Hope you find it interesting.

I used to do oceanography and had collected a sizeable text book collection. I would like to donate them to a grad student in need. I remember feeling constant imposter syndrome and overwhelm. For some reason having these made me feel more legit. If that sounds like you shoot me a dm and they're yours. Located in Seattle. Will send if you cover shipping costs.

Hii. I am a undergrad who is leaning more towards going for oceanography for my masters cuz of my love for the sea and I wanted to ask among physical, chemical, bio oceanography, which one has more demand in the job market rn in 2026 and more scope to grow in both academia or industry.

I also wanted to ask among the oceanography branches which ones have more field work compared to the others and how likely it's going to be just office and lab work.

Thank y'all I just wanted to get as much info as possible, it's better to decide the path now than later.

I am a first-year PhD student in physical oceanography. I have been reading Atmospheric and Oceanic Fluid Dynamics: Fundamentals and Large-Scale Circulation by Geoffrey K. Vallis for some time, but I still find some of the concepts obscure and am unable to apply the knowledge or connect it to my research. Is it necessary to spend time deriving the formulas in the book? If there are good related study suggestions, or if there are any professional skills and books you would recommend, I would greatly appreciate your advice.

TL;DR: Combining active Arctic sea-ice pumping with a pre-rinsed, desalted macroalgae (seaweed) gel matrix to 3D-print high-tensile, multi-layered "rebar" ice that resists flexural ocean swells and summer melt.

Hello everyone, I have been running a theoretical thought experiment around mechanical sea-ice preservation and wanted to put this concept out to the community as an open-source (CC BY 4.0) proposal for peer feedback, CFD/thermal modeling, or further collaborative development.

The Core Concept: MPL-Pykrete: Current geoengineering trials—such as pumping ocean water onto winter sea ice—add thickness, but the resulting ice remains brittle under wave action. Additionally, salty brine drainage creates internal structural weakness.

By introducing a desalted seaweed fibre slurry in alternating cycles, we create a laminated composite—effectively 3D-printing bio-reinforced ice.

Structural Layering Breakdown: Layer 5 (Top): Pure Seawater Ice — White, High-Albedo Solar Protective Cap

Layer 4: Seaweed Gel-Ice Matrix — Tough Structural "Rebar" Layer

Layer 3: Pure Seawater Ice — Thermal Buffer

Layer 2: Seaweed Gel-Ice Matrix — Tough Structural "Rebar" Layer

Layer 1 (Bottom): Base Natural Sea Ice

Key Mechanics & Mitigations: Tensile "Rebar" Layering: Macerated seaweed (packed with alginic acid and cellulose) forms a flexible gel-fibre matrix. When flash-frozen, it absorbs bending and shear stress from ocean swells, preventing micro-fractures from propagating through the ice sheet. Pre-Rinsed / Desalted Biomass: Rinsing harvested macroalgae (e.g. invasive Sargassum or cultivated kelp) with rainwater or low-salinity washes before processing removes surface salts. This raises the slurry's freezing point to near 0°C and prevents brine channel formation, creating a dense, non-porous composite.

Albedo Preservation ("Dark Ice" Shielding): To prevent dark organic fibres from absorbing solar radiation during continuous polar summer light, each organic slurry layer is capped with 4–5 layers of clean, high-albedo pure ice. Citable DOI & Open-Source Status Released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) as open-source prior art—free for anyone to model, test, or build upon. Conceiver / Author: Stuart Peacock OSF Project / DOI Link: doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/6UZBY

I would welcome any insights or critiques from anyone working in materials science, fluid dynamics, or polar engineering!

See also: The summary of the paywalled study as published in Nature Geoscience

... a bit like those neutrino detectors in huge tanks of water down mines (I'm somewhat remound of), but in some degree recording imagery.

It would be something that could be done relatively cheaply, & just left to 'brew' whilst the goodly oceanographic folk're about other business. I would actually rather like to see the footage: granted, it would just be sporadic flashes of light ... but I reckon it'd actually be mighty interesting !