Gelatinous plankton Pelagia and Ctenophores (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Average chlorophyll concentration in the surface ocean (from mi-September 1997 to August 2007) from the ocean color sensor SeaWiFS (NASA). Subtropical gyres, in the center of the oceanic basins, are characterized by very low concentrations of chlorophyll a (dark blue) - 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)
Embryos and larvae
Drifting in the currents, embryos and larvae perpetuate the species and are food for multitudes.
Siphonophores - The longest animals on the planet
Cousins of corals, siphonophores are colonies of specialized individuals called zoids. Some catch and digest their prey, others swim, or lay eggs or sperm.
Ciliate (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium falcatum (Photo : Sophie Marro)
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.
Remote-controlled sailboat
Plankton
Plankton are a multitude of living organisms adrift in the currents.Our food, our fuel, and the air we breathe originate in plankton.
Underwater glider (Photo : David Luquet)
Deployment of a profiling float (Photo : Jean-Jacques Pangrazi)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium praelongum (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Instrumented buoy (Photo : Emilie Diamond)
Mollusk (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Rosette for collecting seawater samples
Les Diatomées - Bacillaria
Colonie de diatomées du genre Bacillaria dont les individus peuvent glisser les uns par rapport aux autres.
Colony of dinoflagellates Ceratium hexacanthum. In the video, one can observe the movement of the flagella. (Video : Sophie Marro)
