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Phytoplankton and ClimateOcean phytoplankton supply about half of the oxygen that humans utilize to sustain life. In this lecture, we will explore how phytoplankton plays a critical role in modulating the Earth's climate. These tiny organisms are the base of the Ocean's food web. They can modulate the rate at which solar heat is absorbed by the ocean, either through direct absorption or through production of highly scattering cellular coverings. They take up and help sequester carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas that modulated the Earth's climate. They are the source of cloud nucleation gases that are key to cloud formation/processes. They are also able to modify the nutrient budgets of the ocean through active uptake of inert atmospheric nitrogen. Climate variations have a pronounced impact on phytoplankton dynamics. Long term variations in the climate have been studied through geological interpretations on its influence on phytoplankton populations. The presentation will focus on presenting the numerous linkages that have been observed between climate and phytoplankton and further discuss how present climate change scenarios are likely to impact phytoplankton populations as well as present findings from several studies that have tried to understand how the climate might react to the feedbacks from these numerous climate-phytop|ankton linkages.
Document ID
20100019272
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Moisan, John R.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
November 2, 2009
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Meeting Information
Meeting: Workshop and Conference on Biogeochemical Impacts of Climate and Land-Use Changes on Marine Ecosystems
Location: Trieste
Country: Italy
Start Date: November 2, 2009
End Date: November 11, 2009
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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