North Sea heat wave fueled underwater plankton bloom largely missed by satellites
When a marine heat wave strikes, scientists often turn to satellites to see how the ocean is responding. From space, changes in ocean color can reveal shifts in phytoplankton, microscopic organisms that form the foundation of marine food webs and play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. But satellites have a fundamental limitation: they...
Key Takeaways
- When a marine heat wave strikes, scientists often turn to satellites to see how the ocean is responding.
- From space, changes in ocean color can reveal shifts in phytoplankton, microscopic organisms that form the foundation of marine food webs and play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle.
- But satellites have a fundamental limitation: they can only see the ocean's surface.
When a marine heat wave strikes, scientists often turn to satellites to see how the ocean is responding. From space, changes in ocean color can reveal shifts in phytoplankton, microscopic organisms that form the foundation of marine food webs and play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. But satellites have a fundamental limitation: they can only see the ocean's surface.
Original Publisher Attribution
This summary was curated from Phys.org.