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Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · 2d

🌊A busy day for @mbarinews.bsky.social science and @globaloceanbgc.bsky.social, the major US contribution to @bgc-argo.bsky.social.

BGC-Argo floats used to study marine heatwaves and oxygen deficient zones. Great work by Mariana Bif - University of Miami, former MBARI postdoc.

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Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · 5d

another compound is absorbing light in the UV with the spectral characteristics of thiosulfate (panel f). The float data suggest an active sulfur cycle, consistent with much recent genomic data.

The floats enable an entirely new vision into the variable metabolism of oxygen deficient regions

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Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · 5d

Nitrite comes and goes (panel e), often following organic carbon export events (panel a). That’s consistent with exported organic carbon controlling heterotrophic processes that enable complete reduction of nitrate to N2, rather than accumulation of nitrite.

But more interesting,

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Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · 5d

🌊BGC-Argo float of the month is a sensor, not a float. Bif and Johnson (GBC; doi/10.1029/2024GB008473) show that the concentration of nitrite can be extracted from the UV spectra of ISUS or SUNA nitrate sensors.

But more..

@globaloceanbgc.bsky.social floats. @mbarinews.bsky.social

Time series of a BGC‐Argo float WMO#5906483 deployed in the ETNP in January 2022 (see inset map reference). (a) Mean monthly POC stocks at the upper 100 m depth. (b) Chlorophyll fluorescence concentrations at the upper 200 m depth. Dashed black lines denote the ML. (c) POC concentrations overlain by the ML. (d) Nitrate concentrations. (e) Nitrite concentrations. (f) Thiosulfate concentrations. (g) Oxygen concentrations minus a background correction from the sensor
calibration offset. Continuous black lines denote the isolines where corrected O2 = 1 μmol kg^-1

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Reposted by Ken Johnson

MBARI @mbarinews.bsky.social · Aug 26

Using robots and AI to unlock the secrets of a remote ocean with @soccomproject.bsky.social 🌊🤖🌊

Applying machine learning algorithms to a trove of data collected by robotic floats has improved estimates of ocean productivity and carbon export in the Southern Ocean: www.mbari.org/news/new-ai-...

New AI approach sharpens picture of carbon export in the Southern Ocean • MBARI

Applying machine learning algorithms to a trove of data collected by robotic floats has improved estimates of ocean productivity and carbon export in the Southern Ocean.

www.mbari.org

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Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · Aug 12

🌊The Southern Ocean is warming, is productivity changing? New paper by Liniger et al. uses the nitrate sensors on 274 SOCCOM/BGC-Argo floats to compute annual NCP. It has increased significantly over the past two decades.
@mbarinews.bsky.social @soccomproject.bsky.social @bgc-argo.bsky.social‬

Screen shot of the article by Liniger et al. "Two decades of increase in Southern Ocean net community production revealed by BGC-Argo floats.
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024GB008371

Graphs shown the increase in mean (a) and total (b) Annual Net Community Production over the Southern Ocean from 2004 to 2022. The spatial distribution of the ANCP increase in shown in panel (c).

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Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · Aug 2

🌊 BGC-Argo float of the month. The 300th float of the GO-BGC project was launched in the S Atlantic. Funded by the US NSF, these floats provide essential observations of ocean metabolism - productivity, oxygen, pH... @bgc-argo.bsky.social‬ @globaloceanbgc.bsky.social #OneArgo #Argo

BGC-Argo profiling float WMO 7902313 is carried down the deck of the R/V OceanXplorer before launch. This float carries oxygen, pH, nitrate, chlorophyll and particle sensors. It will operate for 5 to 6 years, sampling from 2000 m to surface every 10 days.

A map of the 300 GO-BGC profiling float locations. All floats are part of the BGC-Argo array and were funded by the US National Science Foundation.

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Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · Jun 5

🌊Float of the Month. The BGC-Argo array in May 2025! With ships, it took decades to collect the data to visualize the chemistry and biology of the ocean interior. Now we can do it monthly, realtime, quality controlled. Access is easy with webODV. This is going to change things! #UNOC3 #OneArgo

Global maps of dissolved oxygen and nitrate concentration, pH, and optical backscatter by particles at 300 m depth in the ocean during May, 2025. Maps created with webODV, odv.awi.de.

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Reposted by Ken Johnson

Ifremer 🌊 @ifremer.bsky.social · Jun 2

🌊 As the #UNOC3 gets underway, the international community is calling for increased support for #OneArgo, a key phase of the #Argo program, which is essential for monitoring the ocean and addressing climate challenges.

@cnrs.fr @euro-argo.eu

www.ifremer.fr/en/espace-pr...

Ocean monitoring: an international call to urgently strengthen the Argo program

As the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) gets underway, the international community is drawing attention to the pivotal role of the Argo ocean observing program, as featured in a recent arti...

www.ifremer.fr

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Reposted by Ken Johnson

kinesinmotors.bsky.social @kinesinmotors.bsky.social · May 9

👿 NSF in Turmoil: Radical Reorganization, Removal of Directors, Forced Layoffs
🧪
Follows take over by DOGE
#SaveNSF
science.org

Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · May 9

🚨 Breaking: NSF faces radical shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions

1️⃣ Removes/demotes division director leaders

2️⃣ Forced layoff notices to NSF staff going out tonight

3️⃣ More grant terminations expected tomorrow

One glimmer of hope: the 8 directorates appear to be staying

Exclusive: NSF faces radical shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions

Changes seen as a response to presidential directives on what research to fund

www.science.org

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Reposted by Ken Johnson

MBARI @mbarinews.bsky.social · Apr 3

Welcome our newest addition to the fleet! ⛴️

We're excited to announce the arrival of our new flagship vessel, R/V David Packard, at our headquarters in Moss Landing, California. This state-of-the-art ship will expand our capacity for ocean exploration.

Learn more: www.mbari.org/news/mbari-e...

MBARI expands capacity for ocean research with new state-of-the-art ship • MBARI

MBARI’s marine operations team begins preparations for science missions aboard our new flagship research vessel David Packard later this year.

www.mbari.org

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Reposted by Ken Johnson

Carlos Moffat @carlosmoffat.com · Mar 22

So, speaking of Universities caving to government demands and people bringing up loyalty oaths, here's a story that involves a well known oceanographer.

In 1935 Massachusetts enacted a law that required teachers in public and private schools to take a loyalty oath to teach in the state 1/n

🌊

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Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · Mar 10

As the float goes north, it samples cooler water that mixes deeper (its less dense) in winter, reaching depths with high NO3. This brings NO3, an essential nutrient, to the surface, fertilizing plankton, and chlorophyll blooms appear.

What does this trend mean for a warming ocean?

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Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · Mar 10

🌊Float of the Month, 5906440 (@globaloceanbgc.bsky.social @bgc-argo.bsky.social). Drifting north for 4 years, it shows the evolution of the bio. response to ocean phys. At low latitudes, warm water does not mix deep enough (Mixed Layer Depth, black line on NO3 plot) to bring NO3 to the surface. 1/2

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Reposted by Ken Johnson

Julie Packard @juliepackard.montereybayaquarium.org · Feb 25

Protecting the ocean has always been a bipartisan effort, in Congress and across multiple White House administrations. In the face of ill-conceived attacks on @noaa.gov, it's time to raise our voices. My thoughts in defense of NOAA and #OceanScience: mbayaq.co/4k8vEsx

A wave curls and crashes from left to right as it swells toward the shoreline in Monterey Bay. the water is blue and the foaming wave front is white.

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Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · Feb 3

🌊MBARIs @mbarinews.bsky.social new research vessel, R/V David Packard, has left Vigo Spain to come home. Its first science mission, deploy @bgc-argo.bsky.social floats across the Atlantic and up the Pacific. First O2 float in for @argogermany.bsky.social. More for @globaloceanbgc.bsky.social

The R/V David Packard leaving the Freire Shipyard in Vigo, Spain where she was built. The Packard is 50 m and can carry a science party of 18 and a crew of 12.

Launching an Argo float with oxygen sensor for Argo-Germany off the Straits of Gibralter.

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Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · Feb 1

🌊

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Reposted by Ken Johnson

Cara Manning @carabonate.bsky.social · Jan 12

The demo is based on this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZzp...

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning

YouTube video by OceanClimateAtUoL

www.youtube.com

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Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · Jan 11

🌊🧪@bgc-argo.bsky.social Float of the Month. WMO 7900823 deployed nearly 80 south in the Ross Sea has done 2 years under ice. Here's the data plot (all data freely available @soccomproject.bsky.social). No bloom this year! Too much ice melt, no deep mixing, and no iron to feed plankton - IMO.

8 panels of data showing temperature, salinity (with mixed layer depth overlaid), chlorophyll, optical backscatter (bbp), oxygen, nitrate, pH and computed dissolved inorganic carbon over 2 years and down to 400 m.

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Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · Jan 10

It’s 10 days into the new year & @globaloceanbgc.bsky.social & @soccomproject.bsky.social have already deployed 10 new @bgc-argo.bsky.social profiling floats. 410 in the water, 70 with chem & 332 have chem/bio sensors - O2, pH, NO3, & bio-optics. They sample the upper 2 km
every 10 days. 🌊⛴️🌡🧪

The global map of BGC-Argo profiling floats with multiple chemical and biological sensors. The floats sample the upper 2000 m of the water column every 10 days. Data is freely available.

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Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · Jan 9

Almost historical. I created the Periodic Table of Elements in the Ocean back in 1998 with my son, then age 14 who wrote the JavaScript, and daughter age 12 who chased down all references in the MLML library, to figure out how we could use the internet. Nice to see it in use. #mbari #globaloceanbgc

Amina T. Schartup @aminaschartup.bsky.social · Jan 9

What do #MarineChemists and #chemical #oceanographers actually do? 🌊🧪
We measure elements in the ocean. Yes, the same ones you see on the #periodic table (check out: www.mbari.org/know-your-oc...)! These measurements tell us how the ocean works and supports life. Another🧵

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Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · Dec 21

🌊 Forgot the wave

Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · Dec 21

Happy Holidays from the SOCCOM (soccom.princeton.edu) and GO-BGC (go-bgc.org) projects. The present under the tree? 115 BGC-Argo profiling floats deployed this year and more at sea. All data freely available.

Thanks to all the folks who made this happen and the US NSF for their support.

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Reposted by Ken Johnson

Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · Dec 21

Happy Holidays from the SOCCOM (soccom.princeton.edu) and GO-BGC (go-bgc.org) projects. The present under the tree? 115 BGC-Argo profiling floats deployed this year and more at sea. All data freely available.

Thanks to all the folks who made this happen and the US NSF for their support.

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Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · Dec 21

Happy Holidays from the SOCCOM (soccom.princeton.edu) and GO-BGC (go-bgc.org) projects. The present under the tree? 115 BGC-Argo profiling floats deployed this year and more at sea. All data freely available.

Thanks to all the folks who made this happen and the US NSF for their support.

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Ken Johnson @montereyken.bsky.social · Nov 28

Hi Andrew, Happy Thanksgiving. Yes, the paper points out several critical studies that found no lead impact - mostly because their blanks were contaminated, the methods didn't have sufficient detection limits....

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