Colour satellite images released by NASA have underestimated the life-supporting population of phytoplankton living in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, new research has discovered.
A team of scientists have successfully corrected the underestimation through a ten year study of phytoplankton samples and through developing new algorithms.
Phytoplankton make up the base of the ocean food chain, producing half the oxygen on Earth and are partly responsible for the ocean uptake of at least a third of total human induced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
It is expected the findings will improve the ability to model and predict the absorption of carbon in the Southern Ocean.
Read more at University of Tasmania