Earth’s Oceans Show Decline In Microscopic Plant Life
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- Produced by:
- Sophia Roberts
- View full credits
The world's oceans have seen significant declines in certain types of microscopic plant-life at the base of the marine food chain, according to a new NASA study. The research is the first to look at global, long-term phytoplankton community trends based on a model driven by NASA satellite data.
Diatoms, the largest type of phytoplankton algae, have declined more than 1 percent per year from 1998 to 2012 globally, with significant losses occurring in the North Pacific, North Indian and Equatorial Indian oceans. The reduction in population may have an impact on the amount of carbon dioxide drawn out of the atmosphere and transferred to the deep ocean for long-term storage.
This narrated video provides an overview of the study findings and features NASA scientist Cecile Rousseaux.
For complete transcript, click here.
Conceptual animation of microscopic diatoms in the mixed layer as its depth varies. The mixed layer is the surface part of the ocean where sunlight and an abundance of nutrients give rise to a phytoplankton bloom. Wave action draws nutrients from the layer of water below the mixed layer. When the mixed layer shallows, it's total volume decreases, meaning there are fewer total nutrients available to the diatoms and other phytoplankton. As a result, fewer phytoplankton survive.
For More Information
See NASA.gov
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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Animator
- Krystofer Kim (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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Visualizer
- Trent L. Schindler (USRA)
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Science writer
- Ellen T. Gray (NASA/HQ)
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Scientist
- Cecile S. Rousseaux (USRA)
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Producer
- Sophia Roberts (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.) [Lead]
Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Related Pages
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ID: 20227 Animation
Mixed Layer Depth Animation
Read morediatom_v03_withnutrients_print.jpg (1024x576) [115.4 KB] || diatom_v03_withnutrients_searchweb.png (320x180) [87.1 KB] || diatom_v03_withnutrients_thm.png (80x40) [6.0 KB] || diatom_v03_withnutrients.mov (1920x1080) [592.0 MB] || diatom_v03_withnutrients.mp4 (1920x1080) [26.0 MB] || diatom_v03_withnutrients.webm (1920x1080) [2.0 MB] ||
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ID: 11934 Produced Video
Dwindling Diatoms
Read moreA NASA study shows a decline in populations of tiny plants in the world's oceans. || c-1920.jpg (1920x1080) [282.0 KB] || c-1280.jpg (1280x720) [164.7 KB] || c-1024.jpg (1024x576) [103.4 KB] || c-1024_print.jpg (1024x576) [112.6 KB] || c-1024_searchweb.png (320x180) [64.0 KB] || c-1024_web.png (320x180) [64.0 KB] || c-1024_thm.png (80x40) [11.9 KB] ||
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ID: 12012 Produced Video
Instagram: Earth’s Oceans Show Decline In Microscopic Plant Life
Read moreThe world's oceans have seen significant declines in certain types of microscopic plant-life at the base of the marine food chain, according to a new NASA study. The research is the first to look at global, long-term phytoplankton community trends based on a model driven by NASA satellite data. Diatoms, the largest type of phytoplankton algae, have declined more than 1 percent per year from 1998 to 2012 globally, with significant losses occurring in the North Pacific, North Indian and Equatorial Indian oceans. The reduction in population may have an impact on the amount of carbon dioxide drawn out of the atmosphere and transferred to the deep ocean for long-term storage. ||
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ID: 4350 Visualization
Phytoplankton Decline
Read moreDiatom Concentration, Equirectangular Projection || dia_diff_time_series.0001_print.jpg (1024x576) [115.8 KB] || dia_diff_time_series.0001_searchweb.png (320x180) [84.0 KB] || dia_diff_time_series.0001_thm.png (80x40) [7.4 KB] || dia_diff_time_series_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [11.4 MB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/rectangular/ (1920x1080) [64.0 KB] || dia_diff_time_series_1080p30.webm (1920x1080) [2.4 MB] ||
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