Phytoplankton: Shedding light on the ocean’s living carbon pump

Phytoplankton play a crucial role in ocean biology and climate. Understanding the natural processes that influence phytoplankton primary production, and how they are changing as the planet warms, is vital. A new study from the PML CBIOMES GROUP using data from the European Space Agency’s Climate Change Initiative, has produced a 20-year time-series of global primary production in the oceans—shedding new light on the ocean’s living carbon pump. Continue reading “Phytoplankton: Shedding light on the ocean’s living carbon pump”

Trends in Mediterranean Phytoplankton Phenology from Ocean-Color

by Helen Hill for CBIOMES

Changes in phytoplankton Chlorophyl (Chl) and phenology (study of the phases of the phytoplankton seasonal) are key to understanding many aspects of marine community structure and function. In new work, CBIOMES investigator Marie-Fanny Racault used remotely sensed ocean-color data to study patterns of variability and trends in phytoplankton Chl and phenology within the Mediterranean Sea. Continue reading “Trends in Mediterranean Phytoplankton Phenology from Ocean-Color”