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Modular Observation Solutions of Earth Systems (MOSES) is a novel observation system that is specifically designed to unravel the impact of distinct, dynamic events on the long-term development of environmental systems. Hydrometeorological extremes such as the recent European droughts or the floods of 2013 caused severe and lasting environmental damage. Modeling studies suggest that abrupt permafrost thaw events accelerate Arctic greenhouse gas emissions. Short-lived ocean eddies seem to comprise a significant share of the marine carbon uptake or release. Although there is increasing evidence that such dynamic events bear the potential for major environmental impacts, our knowledge on the processes they trigger is still very limited. MOSES aims at capturing such events, from their formation to their end, with high spatial and temporal resolution. As such, the observation system extends and complements existing national and international observation networks, which are mostly designed for long-term monitoring. Several German Helmholtz Association centers have developed this research facility as a mobile and modular “system of systems” to record energy, water, greenhouse gas, and nutrient cycles on the land surface, in coastal regions, in the ocean, in polar regions, and in the atmosphere—but especially the interactions between the Earth compartments. During the implementation period (2017–21), the measuring systems were put into operation and test campaigns were performed to establish event-driven campaign routines. With MOSES’s regular operation starting in 2022, the observation system will then be ready for cross-compartment and cross-discipline research on the environmental impacts of dynamic events., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 103 (2), ISSN:0003-0007, ISSN:1520-0477

Surface seawater carbon dioxide partial pressure (pCO2) in the south-central North Sea was measured between 2014 and 2018 using FerryBox-integrated membrane sensors on ships-of-opportunity. Average annual pCO2 variability was biologically controlled, with thermal effects modulating its amplitude. Deseasonalized winter trends of seawater pCO2 were positive (4.4 ± 2.0–8.4 ± 2.9 µatm yr−1), biogeochemically driven, stronger than the atmospheric pCO2 trend, and more pronounced than previous analyses. The trends calculated including all deseasonalized monthly averages were even higher (9.7 ± 2.8–12.2 ± 1.4 µatm yr−1). During our investigation, the southern study area became a stronger source and the northern part became a weaker sink for atmospheric carbon. Overall, average sea-air CO2 flux in our study area, from the Skagerrak to the Southern Bight (53°N), changed from −0.75 ± 0.61 mmol m−2 day−1 in 2014 to +0.20 ± 0.96 mmol m−2 day−1 in 2018.

Although methane is a widely studied greenhouse gas, uncertainties remain with respect to the factors controlling its distribution and diffusive flux into the atmosphere, especially in highly dynamic coastal waters. In the southern North Sea, the Elbe and Weser rivers are two major tributaries contributing to the overall methane budget of the southern German Bight. In June 2019, we continuously measured methane and basic hydrographic parameters at a high temporal and spatial resolution (one measurement per minute every 200–300 m) on a transect between Cuxhaven and Helgoland. These measurements revealed that the overall driver of the coastal methane distribution is the dilution of riverine methane-rich water with methane-poor marine water. For both the Elbe and Weser, we determined an input concentration of 40–50 nmol/L compared to only 5 nmol/L in the marine area. Accordingly, we observed a comparatively steady dilution pattern of methane concentration toward the marine realm. Moreover, small-scale anomalous patterns with unexpectedly higher dissolved methane concentrations were discovered at certain sites and times. These patterns were associated with the highly significant correlations of methane with oxygen or turbidity. However, these local anomalies were not consistent over time (days, months). The calculated diffusive methane flux from the water into the atmosphere revealed local values approximately 3.5 times higher than background values (median of 36 and 128 μmol m–2 d–1). We evaluate that this occurred because of a combination of increasing wind speed and increasing methane concentration at those times and locations. Hence, our results demonstrate that improved temporal and spatial resolution of methane measurements can provide a more accurate estimation and, consequently, a more functional understanding of the temporal and spatial dynamics of the coastal methane flux.

Quantifying variability in the ocean carbon sink remains problematic due to sparse observations and spatiotemporal variability in surface ocean pCO2. To address this challenge, we have updated and improved ECCO‐Darwin, a global ocean biogeochemistry model that assimilates both physical and biogeochemical observations. The model consists of an adjoint‐based ocean circulation estimate from the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO) consortium and an ecosystem model developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Darwin Project. In addition to the data‐constrained ECCO physics, a Green's function approach is used to optimize the biogeochemistry by adjusting initial conditions and six biogeochemical parameters. Over seasonal to multidecadal timescales (1995–2017), ECCO‐Darwin exhibits broad‐scale consistency with observed surface ocean pCO2 and air‐sea CO2 flux reconstructions in most biomes, particularly in the subtropical and equatorial regions. The largest differences between CO2 uptake occur in subpolar seasonally stratified biomes, where ECCO‐Darwin results in stronger winter uptake. Compared to the Global Carbon Project OBMs, ECCO‐Darwin has a time‐mean global ocean CO2 sink (2.47 ± 0.50 Pg C year−1) and interannual variability that are more consistent with interpolation‐based products. Compared to interpolation‐based methods, ECCO‐Darwin is less sensitive to sparse and irregularly sampled observations. Thus, ECCO‐Darwin provides a basis for identifying and predicting the consequences of natural and anthropogenic perturbations to the ocean carbon cycle, as well as the climate‐related sensitivity of marine ecosystems. Our study further highlights the importance of physically consistent, property‐conserving reconstructions, as are provided by ECCO, for ocean biogeochemistry studies.

Marine biogeochemical processes can strongly interact with processes occurring in adjacent ice and sediments. This is especially likely in areas with shallow water and frequent ice cover, both of which are common in the Arctic. Modeling tools are therefore required to simulate coupled biogeochemical systems in ice, water, and sediment domains. We developed a 1D sympagic&ndash, pelagic&ndash, benthic transport model (SPBM) which uses input from physical model simulations to describe hydrodynamics and ice growth and modules from the Framework for Aquatic Biogeochemical Models (FABM) to construct a user-defined biogeochemical model. SPBM coupled with a biogeochemical model simulates the processes of vertical diffusion, sinking/burial, and biogeochemical transformations within and between the three domains. The potential utility of SPBM is demonstrated herein with two test runs using modules from the European regional seas ecosystem model (ERSEM) and the bottom-redox model biogeochemistry (BROM-biogeochemistry). The first run simulates multiple phytoplankton functional groups inhabiting the ice and water domains, while the second simulates detailed redox biogeochemistry in the ice, water, and sediments. SPBM is a flexible tool for integrated simulation of ice, water, and sediment biogeochemistry, and as such may help in producing well-parameterized biogeochemical models for regions with strong sympagic&ndash, benthic interactions.

During the inaugural Physical Oceanography Dissertation Symposium in June 2002 we found that the graduate school experience varied markedly amongst the 20 international participants. The diversity of backgrounds led to lively discussion about the differences between physical oceanography programs. Here we review the length, content, and quality of education for graduate programs in Australia, France, Germany, the UK, and the USA. We also comment on the financial, social, and scientific status of graduate students in these countries. Graduate programs in physical oceanography face the challenge of introducing students to the wide range of tools and techniques which define the field, ranging from observational work and remote sensing, through dynamical theory and laboratory experiments, to numerical modelling. While individual character largely determines the success of the PhD experience, a graduate education in physical oceanography should include the following factors to best serve students in their future career: solid mentorship, regular department level progress checks, course work, summer schools, field work, practise in communication skills, scientific and social integration, international exchange, and stable and sufficient funding. We propose a model four year physical oceanography graduate degree structure, distilled from the best aspects of international physical oceanography programs.

Within the Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) density level, we study temporal changes in salinity, nutrients, oxygen and TTD (Transit Time Distribution) ages in the western (W) and eastern (E) subtropical gyre of the Indian Ocean (IO) from 1987 to 2002. Additionally, changes in Total Alkalinity (TA) and Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC) are evaluated between 1995 and 2002. The mechanisms behind the detected changes are discussed along with the results from a hindcast model run (Community Climate System Model). The increasing salinity and decreasing oxygen trends from 1960 to 1987 reversed from 1987 to 2002 along the gyre. In the W-IO a decreasing trend in TTD ages points to a faster delivery of SAMW, thus less biogenic matter remineralization, explaining the oxygen increase and noisier nutrients decrease. In the E-IO SAMW, no change in TTD ages was detected, therefore the trends in oxygen and inorganic nutrients relate to changes in the Antarctic Surface Water transported into the E-IO SAMW formation area. In the W-IO between 1995 and 2002, the DIC increase is equal or even less than the anthropogenic input as the reduction in remineralization contributes to mask the increasing trend. In the E-IO between 1995 and 2002, DIC decreases slightly despite the increase in the anthropogenic input. Differences in the preformed E-IO SAMW conditions would explain this behavior. Trends in the W and E IO SAMW are decoupled and related to different forcing mechanisms in the two main sites of SAMW formation in the IO, at 40°S–70°E and 45°S–90°E, respectively., 3