Microscopic ocean phytoplankton feed a "biological pump" that carries carbon from the surface to deep waters. Scientists have found that this process stores much more carbon than previously thought.
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Articles on Phytoplankton
Displaying 1 - 20 of 29 articles
Climate change is changing Antarctic krill habitat. The repercussions for the Southern Ocean food web are huge.
The spectacle of glowing dolphins should serve as a timely reminder of our need to conserve the darkness we have left.
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria help tropical phytoplankton absorb carbon dioxide, creating a biological pump in the oceans.
Populations of plankton are in decline. If we push this critical foundation of the marine food chain to extinction, we could cripple ecosystems for millions of years.
The eastern Arctic and sub-Arctic marine areas of Canada are changing rapidly under climate change.
Acidic oceans are disrupting a major part of the carbon cycle, slowing how seas absorb carbon from the atmosphere. This could massively speed up the effects of climate change.v
New research shows that chemicals leached from ocean plastic impair the growth and oxygen production of the planet's most abundant photosynthesiser - endangering marine ecosystems and the climate.
Phytoplankton are tiny, but they do important work.
Fish are a key food source for millions of people worldwide. But a recent study finds long-term warming over the next 200 years could starve tiny plankton, with impacts that would ripple up food chains.
Low flows in the Murray River in recent years have harmed tiny marine plants called phytoplankton, with consequences for local marine species and management.
The Agulhas Current plays a critical role in global ocean circulation that influences climatic conditions across the world.
Melting ice from Antartica could feed vast plankton blooms, trapping carbon in the ocean. To understand this complex mechanism, researchers looked at volcanoes deep under glaciers.
Young African penguins are following the usual cues to feeding grounds only to find that the sources of food in these places is no longer available. This is devastating for their numbers.
Japan's fleet is on its way to the Southern Ocean for more "scientific" whaling. But a new resolution pointing out the importance of whale poo could help remove Japan's rationale for lethal research.
They 'engulf living prey, suck out their innards, poison them, harpoon them, make them explode, and steal and reuse body parts'. And we ignore them at our peril.
Why spend three months completing a lap of Antarctica (and probably getting seasick along the way)? It's the only way to get vital clues about the remote Southern Ocean and its influence on the planet.
Tiny organisms change ocean acidity to benefit themselves.
They give us part of the air we breathe but microscopic phytoplankton can also be toxic. They are also on the move thanks to climate change so a new Australian database hopes to monitor any changes.
The dust storm that turned Sydney red in 2009 triggered plankton blooms in the Tasman Sea, demonstrating how we might fertilise the ocean to take up more carbon dioxide.
Top contributors
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Senior lecturer, University of Tasmania
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Climate Prediction Group Leader, CSIRO
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Associate Professor, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania
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Faculty and Research Fellow, University of East Anglia
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Research Scientist, Queen's University, Ontario
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Marine Institute Research Fellow, Marine Institute, Plymouth University
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Professor, National Oceanography Centre
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Antarctic Law Researcher, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC, University of Tasmania
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Professor of Marine Science, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania
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Research Fellow, School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds
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Associate Professor, School of Environment, Griffith University
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Associate professor, University of Tasmania
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Chancellors Post Doctoral Fellow, Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney
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Chair Professor, Swansea University
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Research Fellow in School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University
