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Articles by Peter G. Strutton
Global compilation of in situ particulate organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentrations in coastal and open ocean waters
Abstract We present a global compilation of in situ marine particulate organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentrations (POC, PON, and POP, respectively), from multiple sources to provide one of the most comprehensive collections of marine particulate organic matter (POM) to date. The dataset includes 155137 measurements (70586 POC, 69290 PON, and 15261 POP) from 25944 independent stations, more than doubling the number of previously available observations.
Southern Ocean regime shift: divergent trends in surface phytoplankton community composition using a diagnostic pigment framework
Abstract Phytoplankton communities in the Southern Ocean (SO) play a central role in regulating global climate and ecosystems through the biological carbon pump (BCP), which is influenced by ocean warming and sea-ice variability. Here, we combine an expanded circumpolar surface pigment dataset with satellite ocean-colour observations to develop a SO-diagnostic pigment framework that resolves phytoplankton community composition for austral spring and summer between 1998 and 2024.
Marine heatwaves shift ocean net primary productivity from the tropics toward the poles
Abstract Marine heatwaves (MHWs), prolonged extreme thermal events, are reshaping ocean ecosystems, yet their influence on global productivity patterns remains poorly understood. Here, we use a global regression framework to disentangle linear thermal effect from nonlinear feedback and demonstrate that MHWs restructure the dominant drivers of ocean net primary production (NPP).
Global trends in ocean fronts and impacts on the air–sea CO2 flux and chlorophyll concentrations - Nature Climate Change
Abstract Ocean fronts are critical features that influence marine ecosystems and can affect climate at both regional and global scales. In many regions, fronts enhance vertical mixing and advection, increasing nutrient supply, which can stimulate primary production and modulate air–sea CO2 fluxes. However, a global perspective on the impacts of changing ocean fronts on primary production and air–sea CO2 exchange is still lacking.
An improved model of particle attenuation reduces estimates of Southern Ocean carbon transfer efficiency - Communications Earth & Environment
Abstract The downward transport of organic particles produced by marine organisms is a key control on the ocean’s carbon storage. Measurements of particle attenuation through the water column have historically been used to infer the sequestration potential of the biological carbon pump. While often modelled using a simple power-law fit, this simplification may obscure important depth-dependent processes.
Southern Annular Mode dynamics, projections and impacts in a changing climate - Nature Reviews Earth & Environment
Abstract The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) influences Southern Hemisphere temperature and precipitation, ocean circulation, carbon cycling and the Antarctic cryosphere. In this Review, we examine the dynamics, projections and effects of the SAM, focusing on future implications for the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. The SAM is the leading mode of atmospheric variability in the Southern Hemisphere extratropics, associated with variations in the mid-latitude westerly jet strength and position.
Latitudinal Trends in Drivers of the Southern Ocean Spring Bloom Onset
References , , , , , , et al. (2017). Delineating environmental control of phytoplankton biomass and phenology in the Southern Ocean. Geophysical Research Letters, 44(10), 5016–5024. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL072428 , , , , & (2020). Seasonal modulation of phytoplankton biomass in the Southern Ocean. Nature Communications, 11(1), 5364. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19157-2 , , , , & (2021). Southern Ocean in-situ temperature trends over 25 years emerge from interannual variability.
Floating robots reveal just how much airborne dust fertilizes the Southern Ocean-a key climate 'shock absorber'
The Southern Ocean, a region critical to Earth's climate, hosts vast blooms of microscopic ocean plants known as phytoplankton. They form the very basis of the Antarctic food web. Using a fleet of robotic floats, our study published in Nature reveals that windblown dust delivers enough iron to support a third of the Southern Ocean's phytoplankton growth. Knowing this will help us understand how global warming will affect key climate processes phytoplankton are involved in.
Floating robots reveal just how much airborne dust fertilises the Southern Ocean - a key climate ‘shock absorber’
The Southern Ocean, a region critical to Earth’s climate, hosts vast blooms of microscopic ocean plants known as phytoplankton. They form the very basis of the Antarctic food web. Using a fleet of robotic floats, our study published in Nature today reveals that windblown dust delivers enough iron to support a third of the Southern Ocean’s phytoplankton growth. Knowing this will help us understand how global warming will affect key climate processes phytoplankton are involved in.
One-third of Southern Ocean productivity is supported by dust deposition - Nature
Abstract Natural iron fertilization of the Southern Ocean by windblown dust has been suggested to enhance biological productivity and modulate the climate1,2,3. Yet, this process has never been quantified across the Southern Ocean and at annual timescales4,5.
A biological ocean data reformatting effort - Scientific Data
Abstract Biological ocean data collected from ships find reuse in aggregations of historical data. These data are heavily relied upon to document long term change, validate satellite algorithms for ocean biology and are useful in assessing the performance of autonomous platforms and biogeochemical models. Existing aggregate products have largely been restricted to the surface ocean, omit physical data or have limited biological data.
Global trends of fronts and chlorophyll in a warming ocean - Communications Earth & Environment
Abstract Ocean fronts affect phytoplankton and higher trophic levels, including commercially important fisheries. As the oceans warm, uncertainty remains around the trends in fronts. Here we examine changes in sea surface temperature fronts (frequency, density, and intensity) and the concentration of chlorophyll, over recent satellite records (2003 – 2020) in ocean warming hotspots - areas that are warming faster than other parts of the ocean.
Seasonality of downward carbon export in the Pacific Southern Ocean revealed by multi-year robotic observations - Nature Communications
Abstract At high latitudes, the biological carbon pump, which exports organic matter from the surface ocean to the interior, has been attributed to the gravitational sinking of particulate organic carbon. Conspicuous deficits in ocean carbon budgets challenge this as a sole particle export pathway. Recent model estimates revealed that particle injection pumps have a comparable downward flux of particulate organic carbon to the biological gravitational pump, but with different seasonality.
Smoke from the Black Summer fires created an algal bloom bigger than Australia in the Southern Ocean
In 2019 and 2020, bushfires razed more than 18 million hectares of land in Australia. For weeks, smoke choked major cities, leading to almost 450 deaths, and even circumnavigated the southern hemisphere. As the aerosols billowed across the oceans many thousands of kilometres away from the fires, microscopic marine algae called phytoplankton had an unexpected windfall: they received a boost of iron.
Insights into projected changes in marine heatwaves from a high-resolution ocean circulation model
Abstract Global climate models project the intensification of marine heatwaves in coming decades due to global warming. However, the spatial resolution of these models is inadequate to resolve mesoscale processes that dominate variability in boundary current regions where societal and economic impacts of marine heatwaves are substantial. Here we compare the historical and projected changes in marine heatwaves in a 0.1° ocean model with 23 coarser-resolution climate models.
Remote assessment of the fate of phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean sea-ice zone
Abstract In the Southern Ocean, large-scale phytoplankton blooms occur in open water and the sea-ice zone (SIZ). These blooms have a range of fates including physical advection, downward carbon export, or grazing. Here, we determine the magnitude, timing and spatial trends of the biogeochemical (export) and ecological (foodwebs) fates of phytoplankton, based on seven BGC-Argo floats spanning three years across the SIZ.
Distinct iron cycling in a Southern Ocean eddy
Abstract Mesoscale eddies are ubiquitous in the iron-limited Southern Ocean, controlling ocean-atmosphere exchange processes, however their influence on phytoplankton productivity remains unknown. Here we probed the biogeochemical cycling of iron (Fe) in a cold-core eddy. In-eddy surface dissolved Fe (dFe) concentrations and phytoplankton productivity were exceedingly low relative to external waters.
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