Study shows six decades of change in plankton communities

The UK's plankton population—microscopic algae and animals which support the entire marine food web—has undergone sweeping changes in the past six decades, according to new research published in Global Change Biology.

Plankton as a climate driver instead of the sun?

Fluctuations in the orbital parameters of the Earth are considered to be the trigger for long-term climatic fluctuations such as ice ages. This includes the variation of the inclination angle of the Earth's axis with a cycle ...

Space-based lidar shines new light on plankton

A space-based sensor that can "see" through fog, clouds and darkness has given scientists their first continuous look at the boom-bust cycles that drive polar plankton communities.

Nordic seas cooled 500,000 years before global oceans

The cooling of the Nordic Seas towards modern temperatures started in the early Pliocene, half a million years before the global oceans cooled. A new study of fossil marine plankton published in Nature Communications today ...

Uncovering diversity in an invisible ocean world

Plankton are vital to life on Earth—they absorb carbon dioxide, generate nearly half of the oxygen we breathe, break down waste, and are a cornerstone of the marine food chain. Now, new research indicates the diminutive ...

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