Science On a Sphere
ClimateBits: Phytoplankton
Details
Permalink to Details- Added to the Catalog
- Available for
- SOS
- Explorer
- Categories
- Water: Life, Chemistry
- Keywords
- Biosphere
- Carbon Cycle
- Carbon Dioxide
- Marine Ecosystems
- Ocean
- Ocean Circulation
- Phytoplankton
- Primary Productivity
Description
Permalink to DescriptionPhytoplankton are microscopic organisms that form the base of the marine food web and are responsible for about half of the oxygen on Earth. Although microscopic, their abundance can be measured by Earth observing satellites because their green pigment, chlorophyll, changes the color of the water. From measurements collected at sea and analyzed for their biological and optical properties, we know there are many thousands of kinds of phytoplankton. Computer models that include ocean biology and physics help us estimate where different phytoplankton types dominate, which affect fisheries and how much atmospheric carbon the ocean can absorb. Future satellites are being designed to monitor global phytoplankton diversity to tell us more about these organisms and how they impact our ocean’s health and our climate. For more information, visit http://climatebits.org.
Length of dataset: 2:37
Notable Features
Permalink to Notable Features- Satellite observations of chlorophyll concentrations reveal where phytoplankton live in the ocean and their changes with seasons and other mechanisms such as currents, waves, and eddies.
- Measurements collected at sea reveal many kinds of phytoplankton, of different sizes, shapes, colors and functions. Computer models are used to map the distribution of the dominant types.
- Large phytoplankton such as Diatoms and Dinoflagellates thrive where nutrients and sunlight are plentiful, near the coasts and in places with upwelling and lots of mixing.
- Tiny phytoplankton such as Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus (i.e. cyanobacteria) are important for their abundance in the ocean gyres where nutrients are scarce.
- Coccolithophores are not mapped here, but are an important species to monitor because changing chemistry (i.e. ocean acidification) is predicted to make their calcite shells thinner and more fragile.
Variations
Permalink to VariationsVariations introduce slight modifications to the main dataset. For example, a variation might add a PIP or provide a translated audio track.
- ClimateBits: Phytoplankton (Spanish)
Data Source
Permalink to Data SourceMODIS on Aqua: NASA Earth Observations (NEO), Phytoplankton Model: MIT Darwin Project, MITgcm, ECCO-2 Model - NASA Modeling, Analysis, and Prediction