In a first, NASA is conducting a study of the world's largest phytoplankton bloom in the North Atlantic to see how the tiny sea critters influence the climate in every season. It is the first research mission to conduct an integrated study of all four distinct phases of the world's largest phytoplankton bloom. NAAMES research challenges traditional ideas about bloom dynamics and species succession. The ongoing ship deployment is currently collecting observations of ocean biological composition and stocks, aerosol measurements and optical properties of the North Atlantic study area. This final NAAMES study researches the "ascending transition" of the bloom, which occurs after the phytoplankton minimum in February.

Source: dna April 11, 2018 09:51 UTC