Phytoplankton spring blooms / Floraciones fitoplanctonicas
Author: Anna Rumyantseva
Language: English and Spanish
Format: PDF/PowerPoint Lecture
Update: 09 May 2015
NANO Research Themes: Biogeochemical Processes and Models; Climate Change, Ocean Acidification and Sea Level Rise; Bio-optics, Remote Sensing and GIS
Abstract:
In many parts of the ocean concentrations of microscopic plants (phytoplankton) increase dramatically in spring. Corresponding greening of the ocean surface can be even seen from space. In scientific literature this phenomena is known as “phytoplankton spring bloom”. High phytoplankton stocks in spring provide an important food source for higher trophic levels (zooplankton, fish larvae) and play an important role in decreasing concentrations of atmospheric CO2. Mechanisms that control onset and evolution of spring blooms have been studied for more than 60 years but yet remain uncertain. Nowadays scientist use different approaches to study phytoplankton spring blooms such as analysing data collected on research cruises, satellites, autonomous ocean platforms (gliders, moorings, floats) and numerical modelling.