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.
Villefranche-sur-Mer in stormy weather, winter 2011 - Photo : J.-M. Grisoni
Acantharia (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Ocean color satellites travel around the Earth at an altitude of about 700 to 800 km.
Pleurobrachia
Propulsées par huit rangées de peignes, les groseilles de mer déploient deux longs tentacules pour pêcher des crustacés.
Cténophores - Orgie de couleurs
Vagues de lumière iridescentes, à l'affût de proies, voici les cténophores.
Jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Ctenaria Eucharis multicornis (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Squid larva (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Deployment of a profiling float (Photo : Jean-Jacques Pangrazi)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium candelabrum var depressum (Photo : Sophie Marro)
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)
Radiolarians (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Pelagia - Fearsome Jellyfish
Mauve jellies move in droves, their nasty stings feared by swimmers.
Les mésocosmes déployés dans la rade de Villefranche en face de l'observatoire océanologique de Villefranche (© L. Maugendre, LOV)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium ranipes grd mains (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Instrumented buoy (Photo : Emilie Diamond)
