Global fleet of undersea robots reveal the phytoplankton hidden beneath the ocean's surface

Scientists calculate phytoplankton biomass on Earth: About 346 million tonnes or roughly 250 million elephants

2024-10-28

(Press-News.org) Marine phytoplankton are fundamental to Earth’s ecology and biogeochemistry. Our understanding of the large-scale dynamics of phytoplankton biomass has greatly benefited from, and is largely based on, satellite ocean color observations from which chlorophyll-a (Chla), a commonly used proxy for carbon biomass, can be estimated. However, ocean color satellites only measure a small portion of the surface ocean, meaning that subsurface phytoplankton biomass is not directly monitored. Chla is also an imperfect proxy for carbon biomass because cellular physiology drives large variations in their ratio. The global network of Biogeochemical (BGC)-Argo floats now makes it possible to complement satellite observations by addressing both these issues at once. In our study, we use ~100,000 water-column profiles from BGC-Argo to describe Earth’s phytoplankton carbon biomass and its spatiotemporal variability. We estimate the global stock of open ocean phytoplankton biomass at ~314 Tg C, half of which is present at depths not accessible through satellite detection. We also compare the seasonal cycles of carbon biomass stocks and surface Chla visible from space and find that surface Chla does not accurately identify the timing of the peak annual biomass in two-thirds of the ocean. Our study is a demonstration of global-scale, depth-resolved monitoring of Earth’s phytoplankton, which will be crucial for understanding future climate-related changes and the effects of geoengineering interventions if implemented.

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

Global fleet of undersea robots reveal the phytoplankton hidden beneath the ocean's surface 2

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Climate, dead zones and fish: Solving a 'wicked problem' in Lake Erie and beyond

2024-10-28

Images There's a famous piece of advice from hockey, attributed to Wayne Gretzky, about how it's better to skate to where the puck is headed rather than where it is. Research is now showing that regulations designed to protect Lake Erie's water quality are heeding the Great One's words when it comes to safeguarding the Great Lake's fisheries. Specifically, the currently recommended limits on the flow of nutrients into Lake Erie from agriculture may be too restrictive for some species of fish. They are, however, suited to maintain healthy fisheries until the ...

Dinosaurs thrived after ice, not fire, says a new study of ancient volcanism

2024-10-28

201.6 million years ago, one of the Earth's five great mass extinctions took place, when three-quarters of all living species suddenly disappeared. The wipeout coincided with massive volcanic eruptions that split apart Pangaea, a giant continent then comprising almost all the planet's land. Millions of cubic miles of lava erupted over some 600,000 years, separating what are now the Americas, Europe and North Africa. It marked the end of the Triassic period and the beginning of the Jurassic, the period when dinosaurs arose to take the place of Triassic creatures and dominate the planet. The exact mechanisms of the End Triassic Extinction have long been debated, ...

Green growth: 30% of regions worldwide achieve economic growth while reducing carbon emissions

2024-10-28

“We found that 30 percent of the regions with available data have fully decoupled carbon emissions from economic growth. Regions with high incomes and a history of carbon-intensive industries, as well as those with significant shares of service and manufacturing sectors were particularly successful in reducing carbon emissions while still experiencing economic growth,“ says Anders Levermann, co-author and head of the research department “Complexity Science” at PIK. “A stabilization of the global mean temperature is only possible with net-zero carbon emissions. That ...

Cellular couriers: Body's ‘delivery trucks’ could lead to new cancer blood test

2024-10-28

A landmark study led by WEHI and La Trobe University has found a potential new diagnostic marker that could be used to better detect the level of tissue damage in our bodies. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small ‘delivery trucks’ released by our cells that deliver important materials to other cells to aid cellular communication. This study revealed, for the first time, a link between levels of EVs in the blood and tissue damage caused by diseases such as leukaemia. Researchers hope to leverage the ...

Public and community engagement key to enhancing urban living conditions and environmental decision making in China, study says

2024-10-28

Public and community engagement in decision making is key to enhancing urban living conditions and the environment in China, a new study says. There has been significant progress through legislation to promote the role of citizens in environment and nature-based solutions (NBS), but progress in involving the public in projects has been limited, the research shows. However, there has been some work in gathering public opinion and involving them in the project design and decision-making of government-led and large NBS projects. Researchers found smaller local NBS projects tend to see higher levels of public participation, ...

Bagheri to leverage recycled polyurethane foam for real-world applications

2024-10-28

Bagheri To Leverage Recycled Polyurethane Foam For Real-World Applications Shaghayegh Bagheri, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), received funding for the project: “Leveraging Recycled Polyurethane Foam for Real-world Applications.” Bagheri ...

Seeing a black hole's jet in a new light

2024-10-28

Image Research led by the University of Michigan has pored over more than two decades' worth of data from NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory to show there's new knotty science to discover around black holes. In particular, the study looks at the high-energy jet of particles being blasted across space by the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Centaurus A. Jets are visible to different types of telescopes, including those that detect radio waves and others that collect X-rays. Since Chandra's 1999 launch, many astronomers have been particularly interested ...

Experienced research leader tapped as CEO of Upstate New York Energy Storage Engine led by Binghamton University

2024-10-28

An engineer with decades of experience in industry and higher education will serve as the CEO of the Upstate New York Energy Storage Engine led by Binghamton University. Meera Sampath, who holds a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, previously was the associate dean of research in Binghamton’s Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science. Sampath spent the first 20 years of her career with Xerox Corp., including time as the vice president for innovation and business transformation at Xerox Services and as founding director of the Xerox Research Center India. From there, she ...

Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University awarded nearly $1 million in PCORI funding to improve antibiotic prescribing for childhood respiratory infections

2024-10-28

(Philadelphia, PA) – A team at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, part of Temple Health, has been awarded nearly $1 million by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to help improve antibiotic prescribing for children with acute respiratory tract infections. “Many children with symptoms of upper respiratory tract illness who are taken to see a pediatrician end up being prescribed antibiotics, even though they aren’t always needed,” explained Janet Lee, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Lewis Katz School of Medicine. Dr. Lee and Claire Raab, MD, President ...

A new chemistry for CRISPR

2024-10-28

CRISPR-Cas9 has long been likened to a kind of genetic scissors, thanks to its ability to snip out any desired section of DNA with elegant precision. But it turns out that CRISPR systems have more than one strategy in their toolkit. A mechanism originally discovered in bacteria, where it has operated as an adaptive immune system for eons, CRISPR is naturally deployed by certain singled-cell organisms to protect themselves against viruses (called phages) and other foreign genetic fragments. Now, researchers at Rockefeller’s Laboratory ...

Global fleet of undersea robots reveal the phytoplankton hidden beneath the ocean's surface

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: