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A large Ross Sea iceberg off Antarctica.

A large Ross Sea iceberg off Antarctica.
A large Ross Sea iceberg off Antarctica.
A large Ross Sea iceberg off Antarctica.
A large Ross Sea iceberg off Antarctica.
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326492
Saito, Mak
A large Ross Sea iceberg off Antarctica.
Still Image
01/20/2006
graphics/from_cms_to_ims/saito_iceberg.tif
Caption from Oceanus magazine, Vol. 45, No. 1, Pg. 16:
A titanic struggle of tiny plants.
Ross Sea—WHOI marine geochemist Mak Saito joined an international team of researchers aboard the icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer in the austral summer of 2005-06 to explore the ecological struggle between two major groups of algae: diatoms and phaeocystis. The team studied the algae and a number of elements in seawater that algae need to survive: carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, and cobalt. Because the algae have different nutritional preferences, the scientists hypothesize that changes in seawater chemistry will allow one group to out compete the other. The outcome has implications for climate change, because photosynthetic algae use huge amounts of heat-trapping carbon dioxide. On Jan. 14, 2006, cruise members claimed to make history by sailing farther south than anyone in recorded history, in the Bay of Whales.
Image of the Day caption:
WHOI geochemist Mak Saito joined an international research team aboard the icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer in the austral summer of 2005-06 to explore the ecological struggle between two major groups of algae and the implications for climate change.
Photo by Mak Saito
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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