Phytoplankton are microscopic organisms that live in watery environments, both salty and fresh. They are the aquatic equivalent of terrestrial plants, capable of photosynthesis—they convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. As such, they are a crucial component of the oceanic food chain and a primary producer, serving as the foundation for most marine food webs. Phytoplankton are also vital to global carbon cycling and are influential in controlling the Earth’s climate. Changes in their population size and composition can have significant effects on climate, given their role in carbon dioxide absorption. They are sensitive indicators of environmental changes, including water temperature, salinity levels, and pollution, making them essential subjects for environmental and climatological studies. Blooms of phytoplankton, while natural, can sometimes lead to detrimental ecological effects, such as hypoxia (low oxygen levels) or the production of harmful toxins that can impact marine and human life.
A short-lived gap in the clouds let satellites observe a stunning phytoplankton bloom east of Greenland. Satellite observations revealed a vast phytoplankton bloom off Greenland’s…
In mid-May 2024, California’s Clear Lake experienced a significant algal bloom, likely including harmful cyanobacteria, which was captured by satellite imagery. This eutrophic lake, enriched…
NASA’s new PACE satellite provides essential data on ocean health, air quality, and climate effects, enhancing scientific understanding and supporting global environmental monitoring. NASA is…
In November 2023, the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission documented a vast algae bloom around the Falkland Islands, highlighting the interplay between oceanic currents that fuel these…
Cool, upwelling water supports an array of marine life and draws the occasional filmmaker to the Bonney Coast region. When satellites passed over South Australia’s…
New research reveals that North Atlantic phytoplankton populations have been stable since the industrial era, contradicting previous studies of decline. To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports…
Fluid dynamics put on a spectacular show around Norway’s remote Bear Island. Theodore von Kármán, a Hungarian-American physicist, is well-known within NASA for helping found…
One in every ten breaths you take contains oxygen produced by cellular mechanism in microscopic algae. Take a deep breath. Now take nine more. One…
In recent research from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, it’s revealed that coccolithophores, a type of phytoplankton crucial to the ocean-atmosphere carbon cycle, can survive…
Researchers have found that even modest amounts of desert dust can improve the health of the ocean’s microscopic, plant-like organisms. A new study reveals that…
A study published in Science reveals that mineral dust from land plays a vital role in fertilizing phytoplankton growth in oceans. Researchers combined satellite observations…
A new study sheds light on the chemical processes that trigger marine bacteria to transition from coexisting with an algal host to a sudden killer….
Scientists using NASA’s Earth observing system find evidence of phytoplankton blooms hidden beneath Antarctic sea ice. Until now, researchers believed the packed sea ice of…
A new twist in marine upwellings at a well-known feeding ground Oceanographers have learned more about the reasons for the year-round presence of marine predators…
A dark, rainy spring gave way to a vast, long-lived phytoplankton bloom off the coast of Brazil. Rio de Janeiro experienced an unusually long and…
Research on whale feeding highlights how the precipitous decline of large marine mammals has negatively impacted the health and productivity of ocean ecosystems. From 1910…
Marine-dissolved organic matter, which originates from phytoplankton, holds as much carbon as Earth’s atmosphere, yet the biological processes governing its fate are primarily studied under…
Boom in carbon-sequestering phytoplankton raises new questions about oceanic carbon uptake and productivity. Clouds of smoke and ash from wildfires that ravaged Australia in 2019…