Francisco Machín

Mapping the ocean is essential to diagnose its state and discover its secrets. 1940 was a key year, and the evolution of this international exploring effort has not stopped growing, especially since 1999. youtu.be/6Nn2oLPkD6A

There are no rain gauges in the middle of the Pacific. But every drop that evaporates leaves its salt behind, and every drop of rain dilutes what is already there, so the ocean keeps its own record of the water cycle written in salinity. youtu.be/5rxn8LEtyrM?...

This globe maps the kinetic energy carried by ocean eddies: not the average current, but the swirls that form around it. Every mesoscale eddy detected by satellite altimetry contributes, and where that energy is high the surface bulges outward. youtu.be/nOPAq5tClkA?...

Every dot is a mesoscale eddy: a rotating body of water tens to hundreds of kilometres across, tracked by satellite altimetry. Eddies that survived at least 90 days are more than two thousand on any given day. youtu.be/4v9e5a9Mdbc?is…

This globe shows the tidal range of M2, the lunar semidiurnal constituent and the largest contributor to the tide almost everywhere. Not the tide at any particular moment, but how far the sea can move at each point: the difference between high and low water. youtu.be/kAa9xGJrQ0s?...

🌊 #otd in 1978, NASA launched Nimbus-7, carrying the first sensor built to measure ocean color from space. It tracked chlorophyll and sediments until 1986, paving the way for later missions. Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpg

🌍 “This is no longer a warning for the future; it is a diagnosis of the present.” Our 2026 State of the Climate report finds 7 of 16 planetary vital signs at record extremes. The planetary emergency is already here. doi.org/10.1093/bios...

Walter Munk, the "Einstein of the Oceans," was born #otd in 1917. His work on wind-driven circulation shaped modern oceanography. 🌊 Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/efemeride/walter-munk-born

In 1978, TIROS-N launched with AVHRR, giving us precise sea surface temperatures and a new view of the ocean's role in climate. 🌊 #otd Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/efemeride/launch

#otd in 1923, John Swallow was born. He built a simple float that revealed the deep ocean's currents—and its hidden swirl of eddies. 🌊 Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/efemeride/john-s

#otd in 1861, oceanographer Fridtjof Nansen was born. His Fram drift (1893–96) helped birth modern physical oceanography—and the Ekman spiral. 🌊 Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/ef

In 1565 Urdaneta completed the tornaviaje, using the Kuroshio and westerlies to cross the Pacific—early oceanographic reasoning. 🌊 #otd Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/efemeride/urdan

The tide doesn't move the way you think It does. At any one place the tide rises and falls twice a day. Seen globally, it does something else: it rotates. youtu.be/45FKpMuE9g8?...

🌊 #otd in 1970, NOAA was established, uniting weather, ocean, and fisheries science under one agency. Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/efemeride/founding-noaa

This globe shows the mean kinetic energy of the ocean surface in 2025: how much energy the average current carries. It is the same field as teh previous animation, seen as a landscape. Where the water moves fast, the surface bulges outward. youtu.be/gcOD5dImIfo

In 1962 the sverdrup (Sv) became the standard unit for ocean transport—1 million m³/s. 🌊 #otd Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/efemeride/sverdrup-unit-recognition

🌊 The ocean's surface, as it flowed through 2025 Every trace is a virtual particle carried by the mean surface current of 2025. The colour and the length of the trail both show speed: long and red means fast, short and blue means slow. youtu.be/5NtQLGDyjSA

🌊 #otd in 2016, Europe established EMSO ERIC—a seafloor and water-column observatory network spanning the Arctic to the Black Sea, sharing open ocean data. Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/efemeride/establish

🌊 #otd in 1972, the first two SOFAR floats were launched, using the deep sound channel to track ocean currents from afar. Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/efemeride/first-sofar-floats

This globe shows how surface chlorophyll-a changed between 1998 and 2025, in percent per decade. Chlorophyll tracks phytoplankton, the microscopic algae at the base of the marine food web. youtu.be/ZMeqfiAx76U?...

This globe shows the mean surface chlorophyll-a from 1997 to 2025, from satellites. It tracks phytoplankton, the microscopic algae that carry out roughly half of the photosynthesis on Earth. Waters richer than the global average rise outward, poorer waters sink inward. youtu.be/YdKqEiXdP4A?...

In 1975, NASA launched GOES-1 🛰️ Its VISSR instrument helped pioneer sea surface temperature measurement from space. #otd Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/efemeride/launch-goes-1

This is ocean surface chlorophyll from September 1997 to December 2025, seen from space. Chlorophyll is the pigment of phytoplankton: microscopic algae responsible for roughly half of the photosynthesis on the planet and the base of almost all marine life. youtu.be/LY70d-xy63g?...

Since 1993, oceanographers have tracked sea surface salinity from space and ships alike. This animation shows the monthly global distribution (CMEMS multi-observation product) on the Spilhaus projection, in PSU (practical salinity units). youtu.be/T539EFSbL94?...

In 1992, CLIVAR was proposed as successor to TOGA & WOCE, extending climate research to human-driven warming. 🌊 #otd Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/efemeride/birth-clivar

Since 1993, satellites have been measuring the height of the ocean surface to millimeter precision, tracking one of the clearest fingerprints of a warming planet: global sea level rise. youtube.com/shorts/3o0Hw...

How Ocean Heat Flux Shapes Global Climate The ocean and atmosphere are constantly trading heat, and that exchange isn't random. This animation shows the 1979-2025 mean net heat flux at the ocean surface (ORAS5 reanalysis). youtube.com/shorts/ILfAL...

The dramatic rise of global CO2 emissions (1990-2023) This animation traces how each sector has evolved from 1990 to 2023. One striking result: emissions from the Energy sector alone in 2023 exceed the combined emissions of every sector put together in 1990. youtube.com/shorts/r0eSE...

Meridional temperature distribution (1965–2025) Temperature changes with latitude and over time. This animation captures that evolution, highlighting with menisci the maximum and minimum values reached throughout the series. youtube.com/shorts/Zb0g6...

Global Sea Surface Temperature trend (1940-2025) The ocean warms more slowly and unevenly than land, its huge heat capacity buffers the swings that continents experience. Data: ERA5, Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) youtube.com/shorts/S9zE8...

Monthly net heat flux (1979-2025) Red = ocean gains heat, blue = ocean releases it. Watch the whole map flip with the seasons, and look for mesoscale eddies breaking the seasonal pattern locally. youtube.com/shorts/cGHCk...

150 years of ocean exploration (1870-2024) Every station in the World Ocean Database that sampled to at least 100 m depth, flashing at its exact place and time. From HMS Challenger through isolated national expeditions to Argo's drifting floats. www.youtube.com/shorts/b_zah...

Monthly satellite altimetry anomaly vs. the 1993-2012 baseline. Watch for mesoscale eddies drifting mostly westward, and for polar regions flickering in and out as sea ice advances and retreats each year. Data: Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS), DUACS vDT2024 youtube.com/shorts/yMh8W...

86 years of ocean warming (1940-2025) Annual mean SST anomaly relative to 1991-2020, ERA5 reanalysis, one frame per year. Data: ERA5, Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) youtube.com/shorts/lNnc5... #seasurfacetemperature #era5 #dataviz #oceanography #climatechange #soulhaus @ulpgc.es

In 1979, Pedlosky’s *Geophysical Fluid Dynamics* unified the math behind large-scale ocean & atmospheric flows. It became a cornerstone for generations of scientists. 🌊 Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/efemeride/publication

Since the 1980s, satellites and reanalysis models have let scientists track how surface temperature is changing region by region. This animation shows the linear trend in 2-metre air temperature across the globe. Data: ERA5 #climatescience #era5 www.instagram.com/reel/Dbo3Gwd...

On this day in 2001, Rainer Bleck’s paper introducing HYCOM—a model blending three vertical coordinate types—was accepted. It now powers Navy and NOAA global ocean forecasts. 🌊 Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/ef

On July 22, 1902, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) held its first meeting in Copenhagen, launching the world’s oldest intergovernmental science organization. 🌊 Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/efemer

Kirk Bryan Jr., born #otd in 1929, pioneered the first 3D numerical ocean model, shaping modern climate science. 🌊 Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/efemeride/birth-kirk-bryan

Mary Sears was born #otd in 1905 🌊. A pioneering oceanographer, her WWII work on ocean conditions improved submarine safety. She later co-founded *Deep-Sea Research*. Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/efemeride/b

On July 17, 1991, ESA’s ERS-1 launched, becoming the first European satellite to monitor Earth’s environment from orbit. 🛰️ It measured ocean temperature, winds, and sea level for nine years. Read more: https://oceanofisica

🌊 Antarctica and the sea ice of the Southern Ocean is a beating heart at the centre of our global #climate system. Stay in touch with #Antarctic #science via our quarterly newsletter 'Southern Signals'. Please sign up at aappartnership.org.au/contact-us/ to receive yours by email. 🌏 Pat Wongpan

In 1987, Broecker introduced the ocean’s “conveyor belt” metaphor, showing how circulation can trigger abrupt climate shifts. 🌊 Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/efemeride/broeckers-conveyor-b

Breaking News! Code: y-axis alert. Nino 3.4 SST is now up to 3.63 SD above the 1991-2020 baseline, about 1-in-7000 in the absence of anthropogenic warming. There's not enough room in a single post to express just how crazy this is. Please read: climatecasino.substack.com/p/some-monst...

The Longitude Act was passed #otd in 1714, offering a prize for a reliable way to measure longitude at sea. This breakthrough made the ocean measurable—enabling modern physical oceanography. 🌊 Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc.es/

🌍 #otd in 1957, the International Geophysical Year began—30,000+ scientists from 66 countries studied Earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and more during the Cold War. A milestone in global collaboration. Read more: https://oceanofisica.ulpgc