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Arctic ocean mega-bloom: scientists floored by discovery by ferujkll sdff
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Arctic ocean mega-bloom: scientists floored by discovery |
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Business,Business News,Business Opportunities
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Nothing new in the world? Nothing left to discover? NASA would beg to differ. The discovery of an "enormous,off-the-charts" bloom of microscopic marine plants in the Arctichas floored scientists. And it confirms, if nothing else, that there are things on thisplanet not yet seen -- things that you "never, ever could haveanticipated in a million years." So says Paula Bontempi of NASA. An ocean biology andbiogeochemistry program manager in Washington, Bontempi spoke withthe Los Angeles Times on Friday morning about the discovery. Here's how it came about: Over the summers of 2010 and 2011, NASA'sIcescape expedition was exploring the Arctic waters of the Beaufortand Chukchi seas off Alaska.
The expedition was spurred in part byclimate-change research -- scientists wanted to know, Bontempisaid, what effect changing radiation levels (from the sun) werehaving on Arctic. "We know that the ice is changing, we know that it is melting at anincredible rate," she said. Researchers were trying to figure outwhat that meant for the ocean environment -- which affects allforms of Arctic life as well as the crucial fisheries industry and,thus, global economics, as Bontempi noted. So a U.S. Coast Guard ice breaker bearing the expedition's researchers was chuggingalong in summer 2011, funneling the Arctic waters through itslaboratory instruments, when, Bontempi said, someone noticed "thesehuge concentrations of the plant life and said, 'Is this real? Ohmy God.'" The crew brought the ship to a halt.
Remaining in place, theresearchers dropped instruments over the side and began a morethorough analysis. Preliminary findings were sent to Bontempi. "I was blown away," she said. "I didn't think it was real." The bloom was vast -- a 60- or 70-mile stretch of active plantlife.
The marine plants, or phytoplankton, are the base of the foodchain, Bontempi said. So the finding of a bloom "on an order ofmagnitude unlike anything we knew existed on this planet" couldaffect higher forms of life -- fish, polar bears , walruses, etc. It's not just the magnitude of blooms or changes in sea ice thatcan have an effect, she said. The timing of blooms is alsosignificant. Animals in the Arctic are accustomed to migrating at a certain timeof the year.
With the timing of such a bloom, which is a key partof the food chain, are the animals going to adjust their migratoryschedule to accommodate the change? That's one among many questions scientists will be trying toanswer. Once they get over their shock. If you had asked NASA scientists last year if they thought such abloom was possible, Bontempi said, "they would have said no way." Now "we need to get it in gear and figure out what this means." ALSO: Earth near tipping point, scientists warn May warmth helps shatter spring temperature records Entire DNA of fetus revealed -- and the testing is risk-free. I am a professional writer from Luggage Cart, which contains a great deal of information about mining conveyor belt , powered belt conveyor, welcome to visit!
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