Plankton Growth Increase In Ocean Could Be Tied To Rising Carbon Dioxide Levels, Global Warming, Study Shows

[Matias Sanford]

The recent increase of plankton in the ocean is causing
scientists to reevaluate their ecosystem models.

A study that analyzed data from the Continuous Plankton Recorder
(CPR) survey of the North Atlantic Ocean and North Sea since the
mid-1960s revealed a tenfold increase in single-cell
coccolithophores between the years 1965 and 2010, as well as a
large increase in pale-shelled floating phytoplankton in the
later half of the 1990s. These results fly in the face of
scientific predictions, and the John Hopkins University
scientists that carried out the study believe that the findings
stem from an increase in the ocean's carbon dioxide levels.

"Something strange is happening here, and it's happening much
more quickly than we thought it should," Anand Gnanadesikan, co-
author of the study, said in a press release. "What is
worrisome, is that our result points out how little we know
about how complex ecosystems function."

The results could mean that many of our current ecosystem models
may not accurately reflect the rapid changes that are taking
place on our planet.

The researchers believe that the rapid spike in the
coccolithophore population is due to an increase in carbon
dioxide in the ocean, which is supported by various other
laboratory studies. Carbon dioxide is believed to be on of the
biggest contributors to global warming.

"Our statistical analyses on field data from the CPR point to
carbon dioxide as the best predictor of the increase in
coccolithophores," said Sara Rivero-Calle, lead author of the
study. "The consequences of releasing tons of CO2 over the years
are already here and this is just the tip of the iceberg."

Although carbon dioxide is the best contender for the cause of
the increase, further research still needs to be conducted until
this is certain.

"These clearly represent major shifts in ecosystem type," said
Gnanadesikan. "But unless we understand what drives
coccolithophore abundance, we can't understand what is driving
such shifts. Is it carbon dioxide?"

http://www.hngn.com/articles/154807/20151127/plankton-growth-
increase-ocean-tied-rising-carbon-dioxide-levels-global.htm