Ocean Warming’s Effect on Phytoplankton

Posted on December 9, 2006  Comments (3)

Ocean warming’s effect on phytoplankton:

When the climate warms, there is a drop in the abundance of the ocean’s phytoplankton, the tiny plants that feed krill, fish and whales, according to scientists who say new research offers the first clues to the future of marine life under global warming.

Ocean temperatures have generally risen over the last 50 years as the atmosphere warms. And now nine years of NASA satellite data published today in the journal Nature show that the growth rate and abundance of phytoplankton around the world decreases in warm ocean years and increases in cooler ocean years.

3 Responses to “Ocean Warming’s Effect on Phytoplankton”

  1. CuriousCat: Dead Zones in the Ocean
    February 23rd, 2008 @ 5:01 pm

    “This oxygen-depleted region has transformed formerly rich seafloor communities teeming with life into vast graveyards filled with the bodies of crabs, echinoderms, molluscs, sea worms and other creatures…”

  2. Sea Anemone
    September 22nd, 2008 @ 4:11 pm

    Soon enough the whole world is going to be engulfed with water, the ice caps will melt, and the world will be covered with water.

  3. Curious Cat Science Blog » Dealth of Artic Plankton a Warning on Warming
    November 25th, 2008 @ 8:37 am

    “Vanishing Arctic sea ice brought on by climate change is causing the crucially important microscopic marine plants called phytoplankton to bloom explosively and die away as never before, a phenomenon that is likely to create havoc among migratory creatures that rely on the ocean for food..”

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