Tower of Data

WHOI research associate Alexi Shalapyonok checks a Flow CytoBot (FCB) on the air-sea interaction tower of the Martha’s Vineyard Coastal Observatory while the coastal research vessel Tioga stands by. The tower is two miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and provides real-time meteorological and oceanographic data to researchers studying coastal processes. The FCB uses a laser to identify and count tiny marine plants known as picophytoplankton and has been operating on the tower almost continuously since 2003. Picophytoplankton are a fundamental part of the ocean’s food web and the global carbon cycle. (Photo by Matthew Barton, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)