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Raindrops on the Ocean

March 19, 2017

Most of the surface of Earth is covered by ocean, so it follows that most of the rain falling on the planet falls on the ocean. That rain, in turn, affects the salinity of the ocean’s surface. On this 2016 Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Region Study (SPURS) cruise, researchers were treated to a view of this process in action. In collaboration with NASA, WHOI researchers use various types of oceanographic equipment and technology—from salinity-sensing satellites to floats and drifters—to map sea-surface salinity in detail. Scientists use this information to track changes in the global water cycle and its ties to climate.(Photo by Carol Anne Clayson, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)