iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Thank you for sharing our study, Ian!

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13. Together, these studies indicate that the Southern Ocean may be shifting into a state where deep ocean heat can more readily affect sea ice.

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Rising surface salinity and declining sea ice: A new Southern Ocean state revealed by satellites | PNAS

11. This work fits into a broader emerging picture from our group and collaborators. Alessandro Silvano’s satellite-derived observations show rising surface salinity in the Southern Ocean alongside declining sea ice. doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

doi.org

For decades, the surface of the polar Southern Ocean (south of 50°S) has been freshening—an expected response to a warming climate. This freshening...

9. This does not mean Antarctic sea ice loss is definitely irreversible. The future will depend on competing processes, including continued upwelling of deep ocean heat versus freshening from precipitation and meltwater. But the recent changes are a serious warning.

8. This matters beyond Antarctica. Sea ice reflects sunlight, supports ecosystems, and helps shape the Southern Ocean circulation that stores heat and carbon. A prolonged low sea-ice state could change Antarctica’s role in the climate system.

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7. We also found strong regional differences. East Antarctic sea ice loss was mainly ocean-driven, fuelled by heat rising from below. In West Antarctica, the atmosphere played a larger role, with cloud-related warming helping trap heat near the surface.

6. Since around 2018, the system appears to have entered a feedback loop. With less sea ice forming, less freshwater is supplied to the margins of the sea ice pack. That keeps the surface saltier, weakens layering, and allows more heat to mix upward.

5. The salt matters too. As salty water mixed upward, it made the surface ocean denser and weakened the ocean’s vertical layering. That made it easier for more deep ocean heat to reach the surface — helping sustain further sea ice loss.

4. The key mechanism is heat from below. Stronger winds around Antarctica helped bring warm, salty deep water closer to the surface. By 2015, this heat could be mixed upward, where it helped melt sea ice — especially in East Antarctica.

3. In our new study, we show that the recent Antarctic sea ice decline was not caused by a single event. It was the result of a chain of connected ocean and atmosphere processes that developed over years to decades.

2. In 2023, Antarctic sea ice reached record lows. Winter sea ice extent fell to around five standard deviations below the long-term average — an extraordinarily rare event. The question is: what changed?

Compound drivers of Antarctic sea ice loss and Southern Ocean destratification

1. Antarctic sea ice seemed to resist global warming for decades. While Arctic sea ice declined rapidly, Antarctic sea ice showed no clear overall loss and even expanded between 2007 and 2015. Then, after mid-2015, it changed abruptly. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

science.org

Recent sea ice loss was initiated by ocean upwelling in East Antarctica and by radiative flux anomalies in West Antarctica.

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Aditya Narayanan @adityan.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

While it is wonderful to see a cartoon in the Guardian talking about Antarctica, the science is badly misrepresented!

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Aditya Narayanan @adityan.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

No! The Southern Ocean meridional overturning circulation (SOMOC) is very much active! Studies differ on what will happen to the SOMOC in the future, some say it will strengthen while others say it will weaken. But it is true that the surface ocean has gotten saltier.

theguardian.com

Ocean current scientists are very upset and you should be too | First Dog on the Moon

It’s bad news for the Antarctic sea ice and everyone who relies on it being there (everyone)

Aditya Narayanan @adityan.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Why not? Plenty of European Geophysical Union journals follow a similar model and I’ve found it to work really well.

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Reposted by Aditya Narayanan

JB Sallée @jbsallee.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

🌊 🚨 Postdoc position alert 🚨 🌊 The Future Evolution of Global Ocean Overturning Cells at Different Global Warming Levels (2 years) Deadline for application: 1 April 2025 Supervisors: Jean-Baptiste Sallée, Roland Séférian Location: CNRM, Toulouse, France More info: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

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Reposted by Aditya Narayanan

JB Sallée @jbsallee.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

🌊 🚨 Postdoc position alert 🚨 🌊 Optimizing Southern Ocean Carbon Sink Observations Using Autonomous Floats ( @bgc-argo.bsky.social ) Supervisors: JB Sallée ; Collaboration: H. Claustre ; P. Landschutzer ; E. McDonagh Location: IPSL (LOCEAN), Paris, Fr emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/U...

docs.google.com

PostdocCNRM_Overturning

— 2-year Postoc opportunity — The Future Evolution of Global Ocean Overturning Cells at Different Global Warming Levels Deadline for application : 1 April 2025 Supervisors: Jean-Baptiste Sallée, Rola...

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Aditya Narayanan @adityan.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

I love your sea ice visualisations! Sorry to hear about the attacks on science and humanities!

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Aditya Narayanan @adityan.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Funnily enough, I found hope from reading Merchants of Doubt by Oreskes. Mainly because I learned that we can definitely take action, if the people who are lying to us that we cannot get out of the way!

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Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy reading the issue that we have put together for you!

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We will feature two more stories from ECRs working on ocean warming in the coming months, stay tuned!

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Saranya JS, a doctoral candidate at Seoul National University, talks about her work on marine heatwaves and how she uses art to communicate science to diverse audiences.

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Svenja Ryan from WHOI shares insights into her research, spanning the Antarctic, Gulf Stream, and North Atlantic. She also discusses her collaboration with artist Deb Ehrens, who has created stunning sculptures inspired by oceanic processes.

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Updates from the IAPSO ECS network

The first issue of the IAPSO ECS Newsletter for 2025 is out now! 🎉 This edition features interviews with Early Career Researchers studying marine heatwaves and ocean warming. They share their career journeys, inspirations, and visions for the future! 🌊 www.iapsoecs.org/newsletter/#...

iapsoecs.org

Newsletter

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Aditya Narayanan @adityan.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Merchants of doubt, though enraging, also gave me hope! We can do so much if we stop listening to the lies generated by the fossil fuel industry!

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Aditya Narayanan @adityan.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Going to Hobart for the Australian Antarctic conference! Looking forward to meeting friends old and new! 😊 leishman.eventsair.com/aarc/

leishman.eventsair.com

HOME - Australian Antarctic Research Conference (AARC) 2024 - University of Tasmania

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Reposted by Aditya Narayanan

Ocean Acidification Research Center @uaf-oarc-alaska.bsky.social · 02/10/2024

#JobAlert 🧪🌊 #PostDoc #AcademicSky #PhD 2 Postdoc positions researching ocean carbon variability and #OceanAcidification. Based in Seattle with CICOES at University of Washington and NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Lab apply.interfolio.com/155012 apply.interfolio.com/155014

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Aditya Narayanan @adityan.bsky.social · 08/09/2024

I hope bsky doesn’t go through the enshittification cycle eventually 🫣

Aditya Narayanan @adityan.bsky.social · 08/09/2024

Thanks for sharing that! I’m at the crossroads now and will have to soon make a decision!