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'Invisible forest' of phytoplankton thrives as ocean warms, study shows

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2024-09-25 14:30:06

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Phytoplankton are tiny drifting organisms that do about half of the planet's primary production (forming living cells by photosynthesis).

The new study, by the University of Exeter, examined phytoplankton at the ocean surface and the subsurface—a distinct layer of water beneath—to see how climate variability is affecting them.

Published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the findings show these two communities are reacting differently. The paper is titled "Climate variability shifts the vertical structure of phytoplankton in the Sargasso Sea."

Meanwhile, surface phytoplankton now has less chlorophyll—making it less green—but in fact, total biomass has remained stable.