Instrumented buoy (Photo : Emilie Diamond)
Deployment of a profiling float (Photo : Jean-Jacques Pangrazi)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium gravidum (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Plankton
Plankton are a multitude of living organisms adrift in the currents.Our food, our fuel, and the air we breathe originate in plankton.
Les mésocosmes déployés dans la rade de Villefranche en face de l'observatoire océanologique de Villefranche (© L. Maugendre, LOV)
Carte bathymétrique de la Mer Méditerranée
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)
Vue sous-marine d'un groupe de mésocosmes montrant un plongeur récoltant les pièges à sediment (© Stareso)
Villefranche-sur-Mer in stormy weather, winter 2011 - Photo : J.-M. Grisoni
Dinoflagellate Ceratium candelabrum var depressum (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium reflexum (Photo : Sophie Marro)
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)
Ceratium - Capter la lumière avec ses doigts
Ceratium appartient à l'immense groupe des dinoflagellés.
Villefranche-sur-Mer in stormy weather, winter 2011 - Photo : J.-M. Grisoni
Siphonophores Forskalia formosa (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Elephant seal equipped with a sensor
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.