Results from a high-resolution ocean model show that during the strong El Niños of 1983 and 1998, transport of warm water in the equatorial Pacific was dominated by the North Equatorial Counter Current and not by equatorial Kelvin waves. The results show why the NECC fails to do this in most years and how stronger than normal annual Rossby waves near the Equator can both trigger the El Niño in the western Pacific and help to ensure that the warm water arrives off South America around Christmas.

The study finds that changes in seawater temperature due to El Niño and La Niña, anomalous warm and cold events, are in principle detectable by means of the oceanic tidally induced magnetic field. Furthermore, subsurface processes in the onset of those anomalous events lead the surface processes by several months. This causes a lead in the oceanic tidally induced magnetic field signals over sea-surface temperature signals.

The ocean surface mixed layer depth (MLD) is an important parameter within several research disciplines, as variations in the MLD influence air-sea CO₂ exchange and ocean primary production. A new method is presented in which acoustic mapping of the MLD is done remotely by means of echo sounders. This method allows for observations of high-frequency variability in the MLD, as horizontal and temporal resolutions can be increased by orders of magnitude compared to traditional in situ measurements.

The Alboran Sea is a dynamically active region. The interaction between Mediterranean and Atlantic water originates a set of sub-mesoscale structures and a complex sequence of processes that entail mixing close to the thermocline. Here we present a high-resolution map of the diapycnal diffusivity around the thermocline depth obtained using acoustic data recorded with a high-resolution multichannel seismic system. The map revels a patchy thermocline, with areas of strong diapycnal mixing.

To assist in establishing the most likely location of the crash site of MH370, a Boeing 777 aircraft that went missing on March 7, 2014, a drift study was conducted by means of numerical modelling. Three elements were considered: (a) the efficacy of the aerial search; (b) water temperatures along the path of the flaperon; (c) beached debris distribution. The results obtained indicate the crash site is likely located between 25.5°S and 30.5°S along the so-called seventh arc in the Indian Ocean.