Marine plankton – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

May 10, 2024

Small but mighty, plankton are some of the most powerful creatures on Earth

Abigail McQuatters-Gollop, University of Plymouth

Explore the incredible underwater world of plankton.

June 15, 2023

Oceans absorb 30% of our emissions, driven by a huge carbon pump. Tiny marine animals are key to working out its climate impacts

Tyler Rohr, University of Tasmania; Anthony Richardson, The University of Queensland, and Elizabeth Shadwick, CSIRO

Marine life known as zooplankton might be the biggest problem with getting carbon cycling right in climate models. The potential variations in carbon uptake are greater than global transport emissions.

Diazotroph (*Trichodesmium*) bloom in the Coral Sea, captured on 1 September 2019 by the Landsat 8 satellite. The interaction between the physics and biology of the ocean is manifested in these green filaments that snake through the currents. Joshua Stevens/NASA

May 9, 2023

Climate: modelling micro‑algae to better understand the workings of the ocean

Domitille Louchard, ETH Zurich and Mar Benavides, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)

The ocean absorbs a quarter of the CO₂ emitted by humans, thanks in particular to phytoplankton, including diazotrophs. Knowing how to model them is crucial to understanding the ocean’s role in climate.

February 13, 2022

Oceans are better at storing carbon than trees. In a warmer future, ocean carbon sinks could help stabilise our planet

Rupert Sutherland, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington and Laia Alegret, Universidad de Zaragoza

Tiny seashells draw carbon to the ocean floor when they die. This is the most significant geological process of carbon storage today, and it might increase in a warmer world, as it did in the past.

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