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A Mythic Ocean Instrument

April 7, 2018

WHOI scientist Benjamin Van Mooy (right) and MIT-WHOI Joint Program graduate student Jamie Collins flank the proof-of-concept version of an instrument called PHORCYS. Van Mooy co-developed the device to make near-real-time measurements of photosynthesis and respiration in the ocean. These are key indicators of what phytoplankton, the base of the marine food web, are doing. Previous methods were difficult and time-consuming; PHORCYS yields results much more quickly and easily. PHORCYS was a primordial sea god in Greek mythology—a fish-man with crab claws and red-spiked skin. To scientists (who like acronyms), “PHORCYS” stands for PHOtosynthesis, Respiration, and Carbon balance Yielding System. (Photo by Suni Shah, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)