Fishermen and scientists report that tarpon, a large warm-water trophy fish, have been migrating north. In June, Thomas Czernik, a DEEPS graduate student was fishing for striped bass at night off Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island. “I feel lucky,” Czernik says. “It’s a memory I’ll have forever. I’m thankful.”

A recent study in Nature Communications, co-authored by Professor Baylor Fox-Kemper, reveals that turbulence from ocean fronts—driven by submesoscale shear—significantly influences the transfer of heat, gases, and nutrients in the upper ocean layer, impacting climate and ocean productivity, especially in winter, which could improve climate model accuracy.

In a recent study published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, OCE High School Interns working with Professor Emanuele Di Lorenzo found that marine heatwaves in the Gulf of Alaska have intensified since 2013, disrupting ocean currents known as eddies, which support marine life. Using 30 years of satellite data and climate models, the team examined how these heatwaves affect nutrient-rich ocean currents called eddies, which support phytoplankton. The study revealed that marine heatwaves create high-pressure conditions that weaken coastal circulation, reducing the formation of eddies and threatening marine life.

According to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, conducted during three research cruises from 2017 to 2019 in the Mediterranean Sea, scientists discovered that tiny ocean organisms are transported to deeper waters by currents called intrusions, significantly impacting the ocean's ecosystem. “We found that because these organisms are so small, they can be swept up by ocean currents that then bring them deeper than where they grow,” said Assistant Professor Mara Freilich. “It’s often a one-way trip for these organisms, but by taking this trip, they play a critical role in connecting different parts of the ocean.”

Following the catastrophic damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, scientists warn that the Atlantic hurricane season is far from over. Assistant Professor Chris Horvat commented, “The Gulf (of Mexico) remains fairly anomalously warm even at this point in the year, so we shouldn’t relax."

Postdoc Lily Dove explains how seals have become valuable allies with scientists who are studying how the oceans are changing in the remote reaches of the Southern Ocean. Tags on the seals' heads collects data while the seal dives and transmits its location and the scientific data back to researchers via satellite when the seal surfaces for air.

New research shows that, rather than an opening of the passage, the safe shipping season declined along several “choke points” through the Canadian Arctic, especially on the northern route. The finding matches expectations that ice will survive longest in the Canadian Arctic, noted DEEPS Professor Amanda Lynch, who was not involved with the study.

Climate Change AI has announced the grantees for the 2023 Innovation Grants program, including "EMPIRIC_AI: AI-enabled ensemble projections of cyclone risk for health infrastructure in Pacific Island Countries and Territories" lead by Visiting Assistant Professor (Research) Chris Horvat. The EMPIRIC_AI project aims to develop higher resolution climate models and targeted cyclone risk projections to support health resilience for frontline communities.

Research Matters, hosted by the Graduate School, is an annual live event featuring short talks by Brown graduate students on why their research matters. DEEPS graduate student Peter Van Katwyk presented on his research, "Improving Sea Level Projections with AI."

Ayushman Choudhury ’25 is a rising senior studying Applied Mathematics-Computer Science and Music and a research assistant in the Mara Freilich Lab, where he investigates ocean flux dynamics in the Southern Ocean. In our third Student Research Story, Ayushman emphasizes his passion for using computer science and mathematical modeling to improve our understanding of climate change and help fight the climate crisis.

Postdoctoral Fellow Lillian Dove recently spoke to National Geographic about the cooling power of the perilous Drake Passage, infamous for its deadly ocean currents and massive rogue waves. Dove's findings suggest that the region's less stratified ocean could make it a highly efficient hotspot for carbon storage compared to other areas on Earth.

DEEPS PhD students Brianna Hoegler and Jared Nirenberg, with the support of hundreds of fellow scientists, have written a letter to the National Science Foundation expressing their concerns regarding the future of scientific ocean drilling research. The letter is published in AGU Perspectives, and garnered signatures from nearly three hundred scientists, a majority being early career scientists.

“There’s no scenario in which melting ice in the Arctic is good news,” said DEEPS Professor Amanda Lynch, the lead author on a 2022 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “But the unfortunate reality is that the ice is already retreating, these routes are opening up, and we need to start thinking critically about the legal, environmental, and geopolitical implications.”

DEEPS Professor Timothy D. Herbert spoke with Times Evoke about sea sediments, uncovering secrets of ancient Earth and climate change.

The last 12 months were the hottest Earth has ever recorded, according to a new report by Climate Central, a nonprofit science research group. IBES Director and DEEPS Professor Kim Cobb commented that the heat of the last year, intense as it was, is tempered because the oceans have been absorbing the majority of the excess heat related to climate change, but they are reaching their limit. “Oceans are really the thermostat of our planet ... they are tied to our economy, food sources, and coastal infrastructure.”

Assistant Professor James W. Dottin III is featured on a recent episode of PBS's science documentary series, NOVA. In the episode, "Ancient Earth: Birth of the Sky," scientists explore the creation of Earth's atmosphere and our familiar blue sky.

In response to economic isolation due to the Ukraine invasion, Russia is seeking help from China to develop shipping routes through the Arctic. Professor Amanda Lynch shared her perspective with The Wall Street Journal, including concerns about traversing the icy passages with limited emergency support options.

DEEPS Professor Baylor Fox-Kemper and EEOB Professor Stephen Porder have co-authored a piece in TIME about the Earth's rising temperatures. "As earth system scientists, we've learned it's sometimes more helpful to look at Earth as, well, a system. In this case, the system of the air and the oceans. Understanding how they interact is the key to understanding what is, and what isn’t, unusual about this very hot year."

Providence’s sewer systems are not prepared for the amount of rain falling on the city this year, according to Mayor Brett Smiley. And all that extra water is wreaking havoc and endangering lives. Professor Baylor Fox-Kemper commented saying it’s good that the city is taking action on upgrading its sewer infrastructure, given that we can only expect more rainfall and flooding as the climate continues to warm.

The ancient glaciers hint at an Archaean Earth that may have looked similar in some ways to our own time. Assistant Professor Dan Ibarra commented on the researchers' work, saying that the Pongola oxygen-18 values “would be some of the highest elevations [found on Earth today] like Tibet or the peaks of the Rocky Mountains."

“The oceans do a lot of the work in reducing the level of warming,” DEEPS Professor Baylor Fox-Kemper told CNBC. “Over 90 percent of the excess energy on earth due to climate change is found in warmer oceans, some of it in surface oceans and some at depth.”

This summer, an article was published in AGU's Geophysical Research Letters representing work from former Ph.D. graduate Aron Buffen, Professor Meredith Hastings, and other colleagues using a model to better understand how sunlight changes snow nitrate. The work was featured as the cover art for the June issue of AGU's Geophysical Research Letters.

Assistant Professor Mara Freilich and graduate student Élise Beaudin embarked on the Submesoscale-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) mission this past April to study the role of surface layer submesoscale eddies on climate and biological elements in the upper ocean.

$1.5 million worth of repairs for hurricane barriers in Fox Point will start in July, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley announced on the wettest July 10 on record in the last century. Rain, and with it flooding, are only expected to increase in Providence in the future, according to Professor Baylor Fox-Kemper.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recently released its latest findings on the human and economic impact of weather-related disasters during the quadrennial World Meteorological Congress in Geneva. The congress is centered around the implementation of the UN's Early Warnings for All initiative. Professor Amanda Lynch, as the Chair of the WMO Research Board, plays a vital role in guiding the objectives and execution of this significant initiative.

Assistant Professor Gerrit Budde received a Salomon award for his work establishing new procedures for complete sample digestion of meteorite samples utilizing laser-assisted melting and for combined isotope analyses of oxygen and ‘heavy’ elements. Professor Timothy Herbert received a Salomon award for his project developing proof of concept data directly relevant to the long-term stability of the Antarctic ice cap to be submitted to the NSF Marine Geology and Geophysics program.

Baylor Fox-Kemper, alongside Katelyn Moretti, Charles Lawrence, and John Nicklas, has received a 2023 Seed Award for his project, "Bayesian Modeling of Climate-Dependent Mortality Risk among US Residents from 1989 to 2020." This project builds toward a complete, transparent estimation of mortality from the latest generation of climate model projections to 2100.

12 News Meteorologist Steven Matregrano speaks with Professor Baylor Fox-Kemper about what weather could be in store for Rhode Island.

Professor Baylor Fox-Kemper explains the effects of different emissions scenarios on our ocean & frozen parts of our planet. Fox-Kemper was one of the Coordinating Lead Authors for the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Chapter 9: "Ocean, Cryosphere and Sea Level Change."

To better understand the local distribution of air quality, University researchers (including professor Meredith Hastings) are setting up air pollution monitors across Providence in a study called Breathe Providence. Funded by the Clean Air Fund, the study aims to provide communities — especially those of lower socioeconomic status — with data to inform pollution reduction initiatives.

A new paper published by Frontiers, led by Assistant Professor (Research) Christopher Horvat, challenges our current understanding of the Antarctic ecology and the lifecycles of growth that happen under the ice. 

"We're going to see almost a foot – somewhere between nine and 11 inches – of sea level rise by 2050 – a generation and a half, we see that amount," Fox-Kemper explained while standing at the waters’ edge. "And the 2050 numbers are already baked in. So even if we were to cut all of our emissions today, we still are going to see sea level rise."

Sharp fronts and eddies that are ubiquitous in the world ocean, as well as features such as shelf seas and under-ice-shelf cavities, are not captured in climate projections. Such small-scale processes can play a key role in how the large-scale ocean and cryosphere evolve under climate change, posing a challenge to climate models.

A new global analysis of the last 19 million years of seafloor spreading rates found they have been slowing down. Geologists want to know why the seafloor is getting sluggish.

Composition of air bubbles can help scientists date Antarctica’s ice caps

A unified model for transient subglacial water pressure and basal sliding

A new study led by Prof. Steve Clemens proves that monsoons will become more destructive