In photosynthesis, plants capture sunlight and use its energy to split carbon dioxide and water, making sugar for itself and releasing oxygen as a by-product. The dominance of ocean life as earth's top oxygen producer makes sense when you consider that the majority of the earth is covered with ocean. Of the different types of marine life providing oxygen, the dominant class is phytoplankton.
Phytoplankton are microscopic photosynthesizing organisms that live in water. The majority of this production is from oceanic plankton — drifting plants, algae, and some bacteria that can photosynthesize. One particular species, Prochlorococcus, is the smallest photosynthetic organism on Earth. Calculating the exact percentage of oxygen produced in the ocean is difficult because the amounts are constantly changing.
Scientists can use satellite imagery to track photosynthesizing plankton and estimate the amount of photosynthesis occurring in the ocean , but satellite imagery cannot tell the whole story. Studies have shown that the amount of oxygen in specific locations varies with time of day and with the tides. Discuss the importance of phytoplankton and ways humans can positively influence phytoplankton levels and overall ocean health.
Explain to students that phytoplankton form the base of the marine food web. The health of all organisms in the ocean is connected to the health of phytoplankton.
Ask: Why is it important that we protect our oceans and the plankton that live in them? What are some ways we can protect the ocean? Explain to students that they can help protect plankton by decreasing pollution, using less energy, urging individuals and companies to stop destroying habitat on land and in the ocean, and encouraging others to stop overharvesting ocean wildlife.
An important part of saving the ocean is working together and educating others about why it is important. Have students create a t-shirt or bumper sticker. Have students create a t-shirt or a bumper sticker to increase public awareness about the problem with their own ocean health outreach slogan; for example, Save the Phytoplankton—Breathe More Air!
Assess student comprehension by evaluating the accuracy of their calculations and their contributions to the class discussion. Have students research and compare the volume of air used by a human in one day to the volume of air that algae output about billion tons per year.
Have students blow one breath of air into a balloon. Place the balloon in a 2, milliliter beaker partially filled with water. Measure the displacement that occurs. However, some scientists believe that phytoplankton levels have declined by 40 percent since due to the warming of the ocean. Ocean temperature impacts the number of phytoplankton in the ocean. Phytoplankton need sunlight and nutrients to grow.
Since phytoplankton depend on photosynthesis, they have to live near the ocean surface. Nutrients come to the surface as a result of the global conveyor belt—an upwelling current that circulates cold water and nutrients from deeper waters to warmer surface waters.
As the oceans warm, there is less circulation of warm and cold water by the global conveyer belt. As a result, less mixing and circulation is occurring between the ocean depths. As the ocean water gets warmer, there are less nutrients for the plankton to eat. In addition to oxygen production, phytoplankton are responsible for most of the transfer of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to the ocean. Carbon dioxide is consumed during photosynthesis and the carbon is incorporated and stored in the phytoplankton.
This is similar to how trees store carbon in their leaves and wood. Even small changes in the growth of phytoplankton may affect atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, which would cause further climate change and speed up the warming of surface temperatures.
Humans can protect plankton and help overall ocean health by decreasing pollution, overharvesting, and habitat destruction. Carbon dioxide is also the byproduct of burning fossil fuels. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.
The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. Diana Nelson, B. Education, M. Aeronautics, Master Teacher K Angela M.
0コメント