#phytoplankton

Kīlauea volcano's ash prompted largest open ocean phytoplankton bloom, study reveals
https://phys.org/news/2025-04-klauea-volcano-ash-prompted-largest.html

"The waters in the open ocean of the Pacific are nutrient depleted and the addition of volcanic ash, especially iron in the ash, and to a lesser extent other trace elements and possibly phosphate, can stimulate the growth of marine phytoplankton..."

#environment #ocean #phytoplankton #volcano

Na, das nenne ich mal ausgeschlafen:

Rostocker Forschende haben 7.000 Jahre alte #Kieselalgen aus #Ostseesedimente​n wieder zum Leben erweckt.

Die Alge #Skeletonema marinoi überdauerte ohne Licht, Sauerstoff und Nahrung im #Gotlandbecken. Im Labor des #Leibniz-Institut für #Ostseeforschung #Warnemünde zeigt sie nun erneut Lebensaktivität. Die Stämme dienen als natürliche #Zeitkapseln für die #Klimaforschung.

https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/mecklenburg-vorpommern/Rostocker-Forscher-wecken-7000-Jahre-alte-Ostsee-Alge-auf,algen274.html

#Phytoplankton #Ozeanforschung #Ostsee #Sedimentanalyse

Weekend #Plankton #Factoid
With spring upon us in the northern hemisphere, it is the time for the spring bloom in many lakes and oceans. To grow, #phytoplankton require #nutrients and #light, so start reproducing rapidly due to an abundance of nutrients mixed in the water column and increased light intensity . Zooplankton grazers have yet to increase, and warming conditions help to retain algae near the surface euphotic zone via stratification.
https://serc.carleton.edu/eet/phytoplankton/primer.html
#Science #climate

[Back on #Earth ...] Between land and sea there's the beach, the #sand and its grains of #quartz that the breaking #waves continuously disintegrate, feeding the #phytoplankton with dissolved silicon.

This new source of dissolved silicon has just been discovered by several OMP researchers, including Sébastien Fabre from IRAP. It joins those provided by rivers, groundwater discharges and hydrothermal vents.

How is the #BiologicalPump, the mechanism by which the ocean captures and sequesters atmospheric #CO2, affected? Find out here: https://www.irap.omp.eu/en/2025/03/the-contribution-of-sandy-beaches-to-the-oceanic-silica-cycle/

Weekend #Plankton #Factoid
The study of #phytoplankton is difficult because of their small size. For this we thank Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1722), the "father of microbiology". This Dutch draper was self-taught in creating high-quality #microscope lenses to examine thread. He then viewed tooth scrapings and water, coined the term "animalcules" for #protozoa, and first described Spirogyra ( genus name from JHF Link) as “spirally wound serpent-wise earthy particles”. A #science was born.

#Mikroorganismen in der #Antarktis reagieren stark auf steigende Temperaturen und den Rückgang des #Meereises.

Wärmere Bedingungen verändern das Gleichgewicht zwischen #Bakterien und #Phytoplankton – mit möglichen Folgen für die gesamte marine #Nahrungskette.

Weniger #Phytoplankton bedeutet weniger #Nährstoffe für #Krill, #Fische und #Meeressäuger.

https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40793-025-00663-z

#Ozeane #Klimawandel #Ökosysteme #Forschung #Artenschutz

#Antarctic #microbes reveal #climate impact on #marine #ecosystems

#genomics #eDNA #global_warming #community_structure #phytoplankton #funded_by_NSF #funded_by_us

https://phys.org/news/2025-03-antarctic-microbes-reveal-climate-impact.html

#Eukaryotic #phytoplankton decline due to #ocean #acidification could significantly impact global #carbon_cycle

#climate_change #mightymicrobes #CO2 #primary_production #carbon_fixation

https://phys.org/news/2025-03-eukaryotic-phytoplankton-decline-due-ocean.html

Weekend #Plankton #Factoid
Most aquatic scientists, particularly those working on #algae are familiar with the name Hans Utermöhl. His name is synonymous with the "Utermöhl method" of settling #phytoplankton in a slide-off sedimentation chamber, with the base chamber assessed using an inverted light #microscope (which he helped develop). Every phytoplankton taxonomist uses this technique. He was foundational in the #German #limnology research community. #science
https://academic.oup.com/plankt/article/44/3/345/6562679

For a 1922 microscope I refurbished myself this week, but still retaining all-original parts, this is not bad at all.

The quality of the image is not down to the 1922 optics; it's a product of a poor mobile phone camera from 100 years later!

#microscopy #phytoplankton #plankton #science

Interesting...

#ocean #phytoplankton #CarbonSequestration

https://sustainablebrands.com/read/startup-restore-ocean-store-carbon

Tracking #algae species #interactions to help predict harmful algae #blooms

#Pseudo-nitzschia #HAB #phytoplankton #aquaculture #competition

https://phys.org/news/2025-02-tracking-algae-species-interactions-blooms.html

Lake beds are rich environmental records — studying them reveals much about a place’s history
#Environment #ClimateChange #Freshwater #Sustainability
#LakeEcosystems #EnvironmentalHistory #CanadaLakes #WaterConservation #Phytoplankton #Lakes #LakesBed
https://the-14.com/lake-beds-are-rich-environmental-records-studying-them-reveals-much-about-a-places-history/

Fascinating.

"The study shows that in some of the coldest, darkest places on Earth, life blooms with the barest quantum of light. “At least some phytoplankton, under some conditions, may be able to do some very useful things at very low light,” said Douglas Campbell (opens a new tab), a specialist in aquatic photosynthesis at Mount Allison University in Canada, who was not involved in the study. “It’s important work.”"

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-does-life-happen-when-theres-barely-any-light-20250129/

#Biology #Light #Photosynthesis #Phytoplankton

Satellite Detection Of A Massive Phytoplankton Bloom Following The 2022 Submarine Eruption Of The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai Volcano
--
https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL099293 <-- shared paper
--
#GIS #spatial #mapping #phytoplankton #bloom #remotesensing #satellite #Tonga #volcanic #volcano #submarine #eruption #ocean #marine #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #HungaTongaHungaHaapai #HungaTonga #Tongatapu #nutrients #ash #volcanicash #caldera #imagery

Weekend #Plankton #Factoid
The most common #phytoplankton on the planet was only discovered in 1986. Prochlorococcus is a genus of picoplankton (~½ micron) #photosynthetic bacteria found in the Sargasso Sea by Penny Chisholm, Robert Olsen +, and eventually across all tropical oceans. It accounts for up to half the world's #oxygen production. Recently, a relationship with heterotrophic #bacteria was found, reinforcing its importance to the #carbon cycle. #ClimateChange
https://phys.org/news/2025-01-abundant-phytoplankton-global-network-marine.amp

One of my colleagues mentioned earlier this year that 2023 was a great year for #RemoteSensing data from #satellites. This is one of the reasons that last year was warmer than expected - there was less albedo reflection of sunlight from low clouds. There has been a decade of fewer #clouds, which is making #ClimateChange more severe. It is possible that this cloud formation reduction partially may be due to disruption of DMSP production from certain #phytoplankton species.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/earth-warming-albedo-1.7401969

Some pretty striking #phytoplankton blooms off the coast of #Argentina , the headland on left is Cabo Blanco Santa Cruz Province seen by #Sentinel3 on 29 Nov, image about 500 km top to bottom.

#Trees have a habit that is detrimental to them: they stand in the way of people.

Large parts of the land mass were covered by #forest. In #Ireland and #Madagascar, for example, only 1% of this primary or primeval forest remains, and in #Denmark 4%. Especially on islands, e.g. #Haiti or #Sardinia, trees had no chance of survival after the arrival of humans. On many of them, there is no primary forest anymore. The current tree population was then replanted. Controlled, of course, so that it is also useful.

Humans don't seem to have much to do with #photosynthesis and #oxygen, just as they are now decimating #phytoplankton.

#Bäume haben eine für sie nachteilige Angewohnheit: sie stehen den Menschen im Weg.

Große Teile der Landmasse war von #Wald bewachsen. Von diesem Primär- oder Urwald sind z.B. in #Irland und #Madagaskar nur noch 1 % vorhanden, in #Dänemark 4 %. Besonders auf Inseln, z.B. #Haiti oder #Sardinien, hatten Bäume nach Ankunft der Menschen keine Überlebenschance. Auf vielen existiert kein Primärwald mehr. Aktueller Baumbestand ist danach neu angelegt worden. Natürlich kontrolliert, damit es auch einen Nutzen hat.

Dass mit der #Photosynthese und dem #Sauerstoff scheint Mensch nur wenig zu kratzen, so wie er nun auch das #Phytoplankton am dezimieren ist.