1. Earth-Ocean system
  2. ecosystems
  3. marine biology / marine life
  4. life in the oceans
  5. plankton
  6. phytoplankton

phytoplankton

Ocean stirring and plankton patchiness

Posted: 18 June 2010
Near-true colour MODIS satellite image showing a coccolithophore (phytoplankton) bloom in the Iceland Basin (credit: NEODAAS/PML)

Computer simulations performed by researchers at the National Oceanography Centre and the University of Glasgow show how oceanic stirring and mixing influence the formation and dynamics of plankton patches in the upper ocean.