Diatoms - Life in glass houses
Champions of photosynthesis, these unicellular organisms appeared at the time of dinosaurs.They produce a quarter of the oxygen we breathe.
The seasonal evolution of the chlorophyll a concentration as seen by a « water color » satellite (SeaWifs) in the Atlantic Ocean.
Les mésocosmes attirent les poissons ! (© Stareso)
Velella - Planktonic Vessels
Colonies of polyps transported by prevailing winds, velella drift at the surface of warm seas.
Profiling float (Photo : David Luquet)
Ptéropodes - Mollusques qui nagent
Les papillons des mers construisent de fragiles coquilles. Résisteront-elles à l’acidification des océans?
Préparation et mise à l'eau des mésocosmes sur le ponton de l'observatoire océanologique de Villefranche lors de l'expérience menée en rade de Villefranche en février 2013 (© L. Maugendre, LOV)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium pentagonum var robustum (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Gelatinous plankton Mneniopsis (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Deployment of a profiling float (Photo : Jean-Jacques Pangrazi)
Acantharia (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium gravidum (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Embryos and larvae
Drifting in the currents, embryos and larvae perpetuate the species and are food for multitudes.
Phytoplankton bloom observed in the Barents Sea (North of Norway) in August 2010 by the ocean color sensor MODIS onboard NASA satellite Aqua. Changes in ocean color result from modifications in the phytoplankton composition and concentration. The green colors are likely associated with the presence of diatoms. The shades of light blue result from the occurrence of coccolithophores, phytoplankton organisms that strongly reflect light due to their chalky shells - Source : NASA's Earth Observatory (http:/earthobservatory.nasa.gov)
Phytoplankton bloom observed by the ocean color sensor MODIS onboard NASA satellite Terra in May 2010. The bloom spreads broadly in the North Atlantic from Iceland to the Bay of Biscay - Source : NASA's Earth Observatory (http:/earthobservatory.nasa.gov)
Ocean color satellites travel around the Earth at an altitude of about 700 to 800 km.
