Marine Geoscience

Marine Geoscience investigates the structure, composition and evolution of the ocean basins and their role in Earth’s system. At its core lie processes of plate tectonics—seafloor spreading at mid‐ocean ridges, subduction at oceanic trenches and intraplate magmatism—that shape basin architecture and drive global circulation of heat, carbon and nutrients. Sedimentary systems, from high‐energy turbidity currents to biogenic ooze accumulation, record past climate and tectonic events. Geophysical techniques such as seismic profiling, gravity and magnetic surveys reveal crustal structure and lithospheric dynamics, while geochemical and palaeontological proxies preserve the history of ocean chemistry, productivity and circulation. Marine Geoscientists integrate field observations, laboratory analyses and numerical models to understand basin formation, resource distribution, environmental change and geohazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis.

Research from Nature Portfolio

New palaeorecords show that orbital precession and glacial‐interglacial cycles exert a dominant control on subarctic Pacific nutrient upwelling and export productivity, as ice‐sheet extent modulates the strength and position of westerly winds and drives carbon outgassing from ocean reservoirs. Earth‐system simulations of Heinrich Stadial 1 reveal that intensified formation of North Pacific Intermediate Water heightened the vertical density gradient, prolonging deep‐ocean carbon storage by isolating abyssal waters from surface ventilation. Geochemical investigations of Arctic‐Atlantic ridge basalts uncover enrichments in fluid‐mobile elements and depletions in high‐field‐strength elements, attesting to a pervasive slab‐derived flux infiltrating mid‐ocean‐ridge sources well beyond active convergent margins.

Research from all publishers

A machine‐learning analysis of six‐dimensional Sr–Nd–Hf–Pb isotope data overturns the notion of a ubiquitous global mantle component, demonstrating instead that basalts sample randomly distributed small‐scale heterogeneities that cluster into coherent regional isotopic domains linked to mantle flow. In submarine glacial environments, a new three‐dimensional morphometric toolbox distinguishes ridges formed by push‐style moraine construction from squeeze‐up features, refining reconstructions of ice‐margin retreat dynamics. Comparative assessments of satellite gravimetry products against seafloor pressure arrays in the Drake Passage show that spherical‐harmonic solutions better capture basin‐scale mass variability than mascon methods, yet both underperform in eddy‐rich zones, highlighting the need for enhanced resolution in ocean mass and circulation models.

Marine Geoscience publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in marine geoscience across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Plate tectonics: The theory explaining how rigid lithospheric plates move over the asthenosphere, driving seafloor creation, subduction and continental drift.

Carbonate compensation depth (CCD): The ocean depth below which carbonate minerals dissolve faster than they accumulate, thus controlling pelagic sediment composition.

Oxygen minimum zone (OMZ): A mid‐water layer with very low dissolved oxygen (often < 0.5 ml l−1) formed by the balance of organic‐matter remineralisation and limited ventilation.

Turbidity current: A gravity‐driven flow of sediment‐laden water that transports material downslope to form deep‐sea fan deposits.

Submarine morphometry: Quantitative measurement and analysis of seafloor landform geometry, typically derived from high‐resolution bathymetric or seismic data.

References

1. Ice sheet and precession controlled subarctic Pacific productivity and upwelling over the last 550,000 years. Nature Communications (2024).
2. Enhanced North Pacific deep-ocean stratification by stronger intermediate water formation during Heinrich Stadial 1. Nature Communications (2019).
3. A subduction influence on ocean ridge basalts outside the Pacific subduction shield. Nature Communications (2021).
4. Chemical Geodynamics Insights From a Machine Learning Approach. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems (2022).
5. 3D morphometry of De Geer Moraines and Crevasse-Squeeze Ridges: Differentiating between pushing and squeezing mechanisms from remotely sensed data. Quaternary Science Reviews (2023).
6. Uncertainties of monthly ocean bottom pressure from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE): a case study at the Drake Passage. Geoscience Letters (2023).