Rapid Decline In Plankton Population, Researchers Say Due To Climate Change

The Global Oceanic Environmental Survey estimated that the amount of plankton in the ocean is reduced to halves within the past 40 years and it could be wiped out completely by 2040.

Edinburg University marine biologist Howard Dryden conducted the study for the GOES at the Roslin Innovation Centre.

Plankton is billions of marine drifters and organisms that maintain the balance of the ocean’s ecosystem by acting as food resources for fish, crustaceans, and other marine species. Plankton is also observed to generate 70% of oxygen.

Researchers of the GOES team collected samples from the ocean surface along the French and Portuguese coasts and then across the Atlantic to Colombia gathering almost 500 data points.

Researchers expected to gather almost 5 patches of plankton in every 2.5 gallons of ocean water while they found an average of 1 patch.

According to the researchers, a huge amount of carbon dioxide dissolves into the seawater to form ions and hydrogen ions making the ocean acidic by lowering its PH.

Acidic water reduces plankton growth in the ocean. Also, sudden petroleum spills and other industrial pollutants create an acidic environment in the ocean.

Plankton are of two types zooplankton and phytoplankton which are respectively microscopic animals and plants. Phytoplankton absorbs carbon dioxide in their shells for photosynthesis.

They sink to the bottom of the ocean floor when they die and thereby trapping the remaining carbon by creating a major carbon sink. Carbon sinks are also major sources of bicarbonate ions formation in the marine ecosystem and thereby increasing its PH level.

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