Combining historical records and modern satellite data, scientists reveal a disturbing trend for the microscopic algae, the first link in the marine food chain.
July 29, 2010 (Los Angeles Times) -- The world's phytoplankton appear to have been disappearing at a rate of about 1 percent a year for the last century, researchers announced Wednesday, a disturbing long-term trend for the microscopic algae that form the basis of the marine food chain and produce much of the world's oxygen.
In reporting their findings in the journal Nature, the Canadian team said that, since 1950, phytoplankton biomass has shrunk about 40%. Scientists had known the population was shrinking, but the long-term nature of that reduction came as a surprise.
"A global decline of this magnitude? It's quite shocking," said Dalhousie University marine scientist Daniel Boyce, lead author on the study.
The study combines historical records of ocean clarity with modern satellite data, the latter of which have been available only since the 1970s. Together, the modern and historical information provide an accurate long-term view of the state of phytoplankton, something scientists haven't had before now.