Villefranche-sur-Mer in stormy weather, winter 2011 - Photo : J.-M. Grisoni
Instrumented buoy (Photo : Emilie Diamond)
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)
Drifting profiling floats in the Atlantic
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 various components of a profiling float type PROVOR
Siphonophores (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Instrumented buoy (Photo : David Luquet)
Gelatinous plankton Pelagia and Ctenophores (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Les mésocosmes attirent les poissons ! (© Stareso)
Velella - Planktonic Vessels
Colonies of polyps transported by prevailing winds, velella drift at the surface of warm seas.
Annelid worm (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Underwater glider (Photo : David Luquet)
Siphonophore Forskalia formosa (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Foraminifera Orbulina universa and mollusk larva (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
