Fluid dynamics put on a spectacular show around Norway’s remote Bear Island. Theodore von Kármán,…
Browsing: Phytoplankton
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.
One in every ten breaths you take contains oxygen produced by cellular mechanism in microscopic…
In recent research from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, it’s revealed that coccolithophores, a type…
Researchers have found that even modest amounts of desert dust can improve the health of…
A study published in Science reveals that mineral dust from land plays a vital role…
A new study sheds light on the chemical processes that trigger marine bacteria to transition…
Scientists using NASA’s Earth observing system find evidence of phytoplankton blooms hidden beneath Antarctic sea…
A New Twist in Marine Upwellings at a Well-Known Feeding Ground Oceanographers have learned more…
A dark, rainy spring gave way to a vast, long-lived phytoplankton bloom off the coast…
Research on whale feeding highlights how the precipitous decline of large marine mammals has negatively…
Microbes selectively process phytoplankton carbon, influencing whether CO₂ is stored in sediments or recycled to…
Boom in carbon-sequestering phytoplankton raises new questions about oceanic carbon uptake and productivity. Clouds of…
A global ocean study shows that nutrient ratios in plankton depend primarily on deep-sea processes…
A May phytoplankton bloom left its mark on Mid-Atlantic waters. Given adequate sunlight and nutrients,…
NASA’s EXPORTS mission investigates how ocean processes move carbon into the deep sea, supporting climate…
Sixteen years of remote sensing data reveals that in Earth’s largest freshwater lakes, climate change…
In spring and summer, conditions are often just right for populations of the plant-like organisms…
Nearly every summer, colorful blooms of phytoplankton flourish in the Baltic Sea. And nearly every…