How six SA scientists put the Southern Ocean on the climate map
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South African scientists have established the Southern Ocean Carbon-Climate Observatory (Socco) to study how the Southern Ocean regulates global climate. The program aims to understand the ocean's capacity to absorb carbon dioxide and heat as the planet warms.
Why it matters
Understanding the Southern Ocean's role as a carbon sink is critical for improving the accuracy of global climate change projections.
For years, the waters of the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic were a data blind spot. A local programme helped change that.
30 Jul 2026 The SA Agulhas II during the Southern Ocean Seasonal Cycle Experiment (SOSCEx) winter cruise in July 2012. (Photo: Sandy Thomalla) Dive Deeper Speed Read Summary Listen Dive Deeper When Dr Sandy Thomalla first met South African oceanographer Professor Pedro Monteiro aboard the French research vessel Marion Dufresne in 2008, she had no intention of returning to South Africa.
After completing her doctoral studies in the UK, she had become accustomed to working aboard some of Europe’s most advanced research ships. South Africa, by comparison, lacked the infrastructure she had grown used to.
“I was fresh out of my PhD,” recalled Thomalla, who specialises in ocean biogeochemistry. “Pedro offered me a postdoc, which I politely declined: ‘No thanks, cheers. I’m good.’”
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