. 24/7 Space News .
Color Of Ocean Yields Global Warming Clues

SeaWiFS File Photo: In this photo taken in 2000 the color difference between the Black Sea (top) and the Mediterranean (bottom) shows that the Black Sea was blooming with phytoplankton at the time the photo was taken. SeaWiFS Images are copyright Orbital Sciences
Santa Barbara - Apr 28, 2002
A green ocean is a productive ocean; the light from the sun helps the phytoplankton -- tiny ocean plants -- to be productive. This production in turn drives ocean food webs.

New research, published in Science on April 26, assesses the color of the ocean and finds that many key ecosystem parameters describing marine food web function are nearly constant across the entire North Atlantic Ocean. The research is also expected to yield clues about the carbon cycle and global warming.

David Siegel, professor of geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and first author on the paper, analyzed satellite ocean color data from the 'Sea-viewing Wide Field of view Sensor' called "SeaWiFS" to address the factors regulating the spring bloom of phytoplankton in the North Atlantic Ocean.

"When viewed from space, the North Atlantic spring bloom is among the largest mass greenings observed on the Earth surface extending over scales of more than 2000 kilometers," states the article. The blooming propagates to the north at speeds of 20 kilometers per day, leaving a green wake in its path.

"The productivity of the ocean is well established," said Siegel.

"What we don't know is how it gets recycled, how the food chain works.

We're trying to get at these loss processes, which will tell us how the ocean's biological pump works."

The biological pump is the mechanism by which carbon dioxide is exported from the surface ocean into the deep ocean via sinking particles. It is a critical factor in the carbon cycle and global warming.

The satellite data showed light flux and greenness or chlorophyll.

From this information Siegel and colleagues were able to deduce the conditions required to start a "spring bloom."

The data also showed that the partitioning of ecosystem function is constant. "It shows the resilience of open ocean communities," said Siegel, "and that simple models may indeed work."

Previously this research on spring blooms was done at sea with microscopes and other tools. But with the satellite, Siegel was able to evaluate the process using tens of thousands of data points.

"This opens the door to using satellite measurements to study grazing and respiration," said Siegel. "These important loss processes have not yet been well characterized."

Jim Yoder, a co-author of the report, and currently division director of ocean sciences at the National Science Foundation, commented, "We used satellite and other data to observe the start of the phytoplankton growth period (bloom) in the North Atlantic ocean. We were able to confirm that a simple model developed many years ago, based on observations in coastal waters can be used to explain the timing of the spring growth period in the entire North Atlantic. We also quantified the role that plankton animals and bacteria play in determining the timing of the phytoplankton bloom and its duration."

Related Links
University of California-Santa Barbara
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

Research Team Says "Recent" Warming Trend Is Global
Ann Arbor - Apr 18, 2002
A team of Michigan and Canadian researchers has found that over the past half-century, the rocks of Earth's continental crust have warmed significantly, similar to the warming of the oceans, atmosphere and ice reported by other investigators last year.



Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only














The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.