There was water ‘missing’ from Atlantic Ocean. Scientists have finally found it

Scientists have identified a colossal water mass in the heart of the Atlantic Ocean that had previously remained undetected.

They have named the Atlantic Equatorial Water and its detection marks a new chapter in our understanding of ocean dynamics.

This mystrious mass of water in Atlantic extends from the tip of Brazil to the Gulf of Guinea, near West Africa, and is formed by the mixing of separate bodies of water along the equator. This process is driven by ocean currents that blend waters from the northern and southern hemispheres, creating a distinct water mass with its own unique properties.

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For years, the scientific community had observed similar phenomena in the Pacific and Indian Oceans but had not detected it in the Atlantic. Viktor Zhurbas, a physicist and oceanologist at The Shirshov Institute of Oceanology in Moscow, explained the significance of this discovery.

“It seemed controversial that the equatorial water mass is present in the Pacific and Indian oceans but missing in the Atlantic Ocean because the equatorial circulation and mixing in all three oceans have common features,” Viktor told Live Science.

Ocean water is far from uniform; it is a complex mosaic of interlinked layers and masses that are constantly being mixed and separated by currents, eddies, and variations in temperature and salinity. These water masses each have a shared formation history and physical properties such as density and the distribution of dissolved isotopes like oxygen, nitrate, and phosphate.

To differentiate these water masses, oceanographers use temperature-salinity charts to map their relationships across the ocean. These measurements are crucial as they determine the density of seawater.

In 1942, such charting led to the identification of equatorial waters in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, characterized by their distinct temperatures and salinities along lines of constant density.

The search for the elusive Atlantic Equatorial Water involved analyzing data from the Argo program, an international network of robotic floats that continuously monitor the world’s oceans. The researchers discovered a previously unnoticed temperature-salinity curve running parallel to the North Atlantic and South Atlantic Central waters, revealing the presence of the Atlantic Equatorial Water.

Zhurbas noted the challenge in distinguishing this new water mass from the South Atlantic Central Water, emphasizing the need for a dense network of vertical temperature and salinity profiles across the Atlantic.

This discovery is more than just a scientific curiosity; it provides a deeper insight into how oceans mix, which is essential for understanding the global transport of heat, oxygen, and nutrients. With the identification of the Atlantic Equatorial Water, scientists can now more accurately describe the phenomenological pattern of the world’s basic water masses, enhancing our comprehension of the Earth’s oceans.

This significant find was published on October 28 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.