Algae, Aerosols, and Climate

Researchers from the University of Rhode Island prepare the main lab of R/V Atlantis for a cruise to the North Atlantic, where a multi-institutional team will study Earth’s largest concentration of microscopic marine plants, known as phytoplankton. This series of funnels will be part of experiments to examine how tiny marine animals called microzooplankton affect growth of the phytoplankton they feed on. Funded by NASA, the North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) is looking at the relationships between these massive phytoplankton blooms, marine aerosols, and global climate.(Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)