December 2024: Ocean memory, a new deep-sea predator, and great fish parenting.

Here's our round-up of some of this month's exciting ocean science news!

North Atlantic Ocean has memory of nearly two decades

Ocean memory can be defined as "the persistence of ocean conditions and is a major source of predictability in the climate system beyond weather time scales".

A research team led by the 英国利物浦大学 has managed to quantify ocean memory and have found that the North Atlantic Ocean has a memory of approximately one to two decades, compared to a few years, as previously thought. To do so, they have tracked the evolution of ocean temperatures in response to a single extreme atmospheric event, and have found that there are fast and slow responses involving an immediate atmospheric effect on surface temperature and a delayed ocean redistribution of heat.

According to the authors of the study, such analysis of ocean memory can enhance future climate projections over a decade.

Researchers discover a new deep-ocean predator in the Atacama Trench

Introducing the Dulcibella camanchaca, the latest deep-sea predator in town! Discovered by a team of scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Instituto Milenio de Oceanografía (IMO) based at the Universidad de Concepción in Chile, this 4-centimetre long crustacean is the first large, active predatory amphipod from the dark and extreme depths of the Atacama Trench.

The specimens were collected at 7,902 metres under the ocean surface and revealed that this fast-swimming crustacean eats smaller amphipod species in the Atacama Trench.

The Dulcibella camanchaca was "named after 'darkness' in the languages of the peoples from the Andes region to signify the deep, dark ocean from where it predates," explained the study's co-lead author, Dr. Johanna Weston, a hadal ecologist at WHOI.

Scientists find a rare example of "great fish parenting"

A team of researchers at 澳大利亚昆士兰大学 found that in the western Pacific Ocean, a common coral reef species, the spiny chromis damselfish, actively protects their offsprings by eating parasites.

Dr. Alexandra Grutter, who led the research, highlighted that while the care of fish eggs is common in the marine environment, the caring of baby fish is rare, with larvae leaving the reef for the open ocean in most cases. In this unique case, spiny chromis damselfish babies never leave the reef and are cared for by both parents.

? Bonus: the 2024 Ocean Decade highlights of the year ?

As 2024 draws to a close, we want to thank you all for a transformative year that has propelled global ocean action forward!

Join us to look back some of the Ocean Decade milestones that made waves within and beyond the ocean community: read our 2024 Ocean Decade highlights article here.

Cover photo: Meet the newly discovered crustacean living in the extreme depths of the Atacama Trench. ? Johanna Weston/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution