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GLOBAL PHYTOPLANKTON BIOMASS IN THE LAST CENTURY. This article draws data together for the global regional oceanic biomass from satellite maps. Clearly there are regional differences, as expected. " " http://lnkd.in/djWnTD5 View in LinkedIn

MASSIVE FORTY PERCENT DROP IN OCEAN PHYTOPLANKTON. "Phytoplankton, described as the 'fuel' on which marine ecosystems run, are experiencing declines of about 1 per cent of the average total a year. According to the researchers from Dalhousie University in Canada the annual falls translate to a 40 per cent drop in phytoplankton since 1950. They produce half of the oxygen we breathe, draw down surface carbon dioxide and ultimately support all our fisheries."" " http://lnkd.in/dPpZtpn View in LinkedIn

MARTIN'S IRON HYPOTHESIS is that marine microorganisms often lack iron in their environment, and when artificially or naturally added (iron rich dust storms) can cause an algal bloom that could cool the planet by sequestering CO2 in carbonate if their shells on a massive scale. It was first tested in open oceans in 1993. http://lnkd.in/dqqNa4K View in LinkedIn

VAST OCEANIC CARBON SINKS. "Oceans are at present CO2 sinks, and represent the largest active carbon sink on Earth, absorbing more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide that humans put into the air. On longer timescales they may be both sources and sinks – during ice ages CO2 levels decrease to ~180 ppmv, and much of this is believed to be stored in the oceans. As ice ages end, CO2 is released from the oceans and CO2 levels during previous interglacials have been around ~280 ppmv."" " http://lnkd.in/dQANKaJ View in LinkedIn

COMPOSING MUSIC BY THOUGHTS ALONE."His device reads thoughts, with the aid of a brain cap, and promises to translate those thoughts into music - a world away from the traditional composition process. The professor plans to use this system to take readings from four people and then control a string quartet with the results."" " http://lnkd.in/d2PNrmG View in LinkedIn

PHYTOPLANKTON BIOMASS. "Marine cyanobacteria are the smallest known photosynthetic organisms; the smallest of all, Prochlorococcus, is just 0.5 to 0.8 micrometres across. Prochlorococcus is possibly the most plentiful species on Earth: a single millilitre of surface seawater may contain 100,000 cells or more. Worldwide, there are estimated to be several octillion (~10 to the 27) individuals. The bacterium accounts for an estimated 20% of the oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere, and forms part of the base of the ocean food chain."" " http://lnkd.in/dHjmW7G) View in LinkedIn

ANCIENT ALGAE SUCCESSFULLY EVOLVED IN ACIDIC OCEANS. "The brutal conditions on Earth meant the first algae cells had to evolve and re-evolve millions of times as their microenvironments crashed with electrical storms and severe heat followed by freezes and meteor showers of super-heated rocks. Algae displayed incredible persistence and developed a wide variety of defense mechanisms. Algae’s ability to adapt quickly in order to survive led to an estimated 10 million algal species."" " http://lnkd.in/dk2h4td View in LinkedIn

ANCIENT EARTH TRANSFORMED BY ALGAE. "Algae systematically collected solar energy, sequestered carbon atoms and released oxygen. Moving at the incredibly slow rate of one tiny molecule at a time, algae transformed the harsh carbon dioxide atmosphere that could not sustain life to an oxygen atmosphere that supported life. Algae took another 3 billion years to create sufficient oxygen to support other forms of life because land plants evolved from algae only about 500 million years ago."" " http://lnkd.in/dk2h4td View in LinkedIn

ACID OCEANS CAUSE SMALLER SHELLS OF PHYTOPLANKTON. "If the shell-making is reduced, the storage of carbon in the ocean might be, as well." That's bad news for the climate, because the ocean is responsible for absorbing at least one quarter of the CO2 that humans load into the air through fossil fuel burning and other activities—and it is the action of foraminifera and other tiny shell-building animals, along with plants like algae that lock it away safely for millennia."" " http://lnkd.in/d5SWZrz View in LinkedIn

ACID OCEANS."The world's oceans are becoming acidic at an "unprecedented rate" and may be souring more rapidly than at any time in the past 300 million years. In their strongest statement yet on this issue, scientists say acidification could increase by 170% by 2100. They say that some 30% of ocean species are unlikely to survive in these conditions. The researchers conclude that human emissions of CO2 are clearly to blame." CO2 plus water makes carbonic acid. " " http://lnkd.in/dpzqPFn View in LinkedIn