Phytoplankton are arguably the most important organisms in the ocean. Directly or indirectly, almost all life in our global waters depends on their activity.
Phytoplankton are arguably the most important organisms in the ocean. Directly or indirectly, almost all life in our global waters depends on their activity. In a new study, a team of researchers have mapped how the activity of these microscopic plants affects critical waters around Greenland, which impact important regional fisheries and even nutrient availability around the globe.
The researchers found that the seasonal availability of carbon produced by phytoplankton is shifting poleward and appears for longer than in previous decades. The discovery will enhance scientists’ understanding of carbon cycling and nutrient availability in this rapidly warming and changing environment.
During photosynthesis, all plants convert carbon dioxide into food by harnessing energy from the sun. The food they create, in the form of organic carbon, is critical to life. This process is called primary production and plays a major role in the global carbon cycle. In the ocean, almost all primary production is performed by phytoplankton.
“Everything depends on the carbon produced by phytoplankton, no matter where you are in ocean waters,” said Bigelow Laboratory Senior Research Scientist Paty Matrai, one of the paper’s co-authors. “If there is no primary production, then there is no new carbon being created, and the many animals that depend on it have nothing to feed on.”
Read more at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Photo Credit: JChristophe_Andre via Pixabay
