Related topics: ocean · carbon dioxide

Study underscores uncertain costs of iron fertilization

As society grapples with the intensifying consequences of climate change, decision-makers are increasingly looking to carbon dioxide removal as a necessary complement to emission reductions. One of the strategies that has ...

How nitrogen has been underestimated in lake ecosystems

An ecological imbalance in a lake can usually be attributed to increased nutrient inputs. This results in increased phytoplankton growth, oxygen deficiency, toxic cyanobacterial blooms and fish deaths. Until now, controls ...

NASA's EMIT instrument maps global airborne mineral dust

NASA'S EMIT mission, placed on the International Space Station to learn how dust storms on Earth warm or cool the planet, has created the first complete maps of the world's dust source regions, providing precise locations ...

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Phytoplankton

Phytoplankton are the autotrophic component of the plankton community. The name comes from the Greek words phyton, or "plant", and πλαγκτος ("planktos"), meaning "wanderer" or "drifter". Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye. However, when present in high enough numbers, they may appear as a green discoloration of the water due to the presence of chlorophyll within their cells (although the actual color may vary with the species of phytoplankton present due to varying levels of chlorophyll or the presence of accessory pigments such as phycobiliproteins, xanthophylls, etc.).

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