Monitoring the 'Grass of the Sea'

Phytoplankton, free-floating microscopic marine plants, are the base of the ocean's food chain. When conditions are favourable large 'blooms' of the algae can form. These blooms can de-oxygenate the water, devastating populations of sea life in the area. Some types of phytoplankton are also toxic to fish and humans.

Monitoring phytoplankton blooms can provide valuable warning for fisheries and public health officials. Satelite imaging systems, such as Envisat's Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) used by the European Space Agency, can detect and keep track of developing algal blooms.

Link: Earth from Space: Bloom in the Baltic from Biology News Net

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 2:11 PM on September 1, 2005

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