Research
Water sinking near Antarctica carries nutrients on a decades-long journey
Earth.com · By Eric Ralls ·
The Brief
- Water that sinks near Antarctica each winter spends decades moving north beneath the world's oceans.
- As it travels, this water carries nutrients that support plankton growth across much of the ocean.
- The source is a short Earth.com feature; it gives no new measurements, dates or figures.
Why it matters
It links deep Antarctic water sinking to nutrient supply and plankton growth far from the source, which matters for understanding how ocean circulation shapes marine productivity.
Who’s affected
- oceanographers
- marine biologists
- #southern ocean
- #ocean circulation
- #nutrients
- #plankton
- #antarctica
The Southern Ocean looks remote, about as far from the Gulf of Maine or the North Pacific as water gets. Yet the water that sinks there each winter spends decades sliding north beneath the world’s oceans. It carries nutrients that support plankton growth across much of the ocean…