Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40700485›Full record

ArticleScience advances2025

Observations of a splitting ocean cyclone resulting in subduction of surface waters.

Leo Middleton, Weiguang Wu, T M Shaun Johnston, Daniel R Tarry, J Thomas Farrar, Pierre-Marie Poulain, Tamay M Özgökmen, Andrey Y Shcherbina, Ananda Pascual, Craig L McNeill and 16 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

26 authors.

Leo MiddletonWoods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2821-6992
Weiguang WuWoods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2277-407X
T M Shaun JohnstonScripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8760-3749
Daniel R TarryApplied Physics Labratory, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.
J Thomas FarrarWoods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3495-1990
Pierre-Marie PoulainIstituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e Geofisica Sperimentale, Sgonico, Friuli-Venezia Giulia 34010, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-1342-8463
Tamay M ÖzgökmenRosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33149, USA.
Andrey Y ShcherbinaApplied Physics Labratory, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4246-487X
Ananda PascualInstituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma 07190, Spain.ORCID 0000-0001-9476-9272
Craig L McNeillApplied Physics Labratory, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7487-8823
Malek BelgacemConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche-Istituto di Scienze Marine, Venizia, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-0745-4155
Maristella BertaConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche-Istituto di Scienze Marine, Venizia, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-5428-9741
Kathleen AbbottWoods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5504-6730
Alexandra Z WordenMarine Biological Labratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9888-9324
Fabian WittmersMarine Biological Labratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0859-8871
Alex KinsellaWoods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3586-686X
Luca R CenturioniScripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6248-8780
Verena HormannScripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5470-5602
Eugenio CutoloInstituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma 07190, Spain.ORCID 0009-0004-9608-5834
Joaquín TintoréInstituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma 07190, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-6311-0093
Simón RuizInstituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma 07190, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-9395-9370
Benjamín CasasBalearic Islands Coastal Observing and Forecasting System, Palma 07122, Spain.
Helena CheslackWoods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
CALYPSO Collaboration
Eric A D'AsaroApplied Physics Labratory, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8453-854X
Amala MahadevanWoods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7522-4100

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Earth's oceans contain large numbers of cyclonic eddies, 10 to 25 kilometers in diameter and unresolved in climate simulations. However, we lack observations of these features due to their small size and fast evolution. Here, we present in situ observations of one such cyclonic eddy with intense chlorophyll at its center as it spontaneously splits into two smaller cyclonic eddies over a few days. This splitting rapidly transports surface waters to depth, with sustained vertical velocities of 60 meters per day, primarily from the center of the eddy where carbon concentrations are largest, facilitating efficient transfer of phytoplankton carbon to depth, below the well-mixed, sunlit surface layer. We reproduce the splitting process in an idealized ocean model and find that splitting is controlled by the initial elliptical eddy shape, size, and intensity. Our observations uncover a mechanism for subduction in the upper ocean and highlight the need for quantifying its global prevalence.

Identifiers

PMID40700485
PMCPMC12285707

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.