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Although there had been several earlier records of very small chlorophyll-b-containing cyanobacteria in the ocean, [5] [6] Prochlorococcus was discovered in 1986 [7] by Sallie W. (Penny) Chisholm of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Robert J. Olson of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and other collaborators in the Sargasso Sea using flow cytometry.
Chlorophyll is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. [2] Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρός (khloros, "pale green") and φύλλον (phyllon, "leaf"). [3] Chlorophyll allows plants to absorb energy from light.
The tiny marine cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus, discovered in 1986, forms today part of the base of the ocean food chain and accounts for more than half the photosynthesis of the open ocean [23] and an estimated 20% of the oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere. [24]
For example, Ware and Thomson (2005) found an r 2 of 0.87 between resident fish yield (metric tons km-2) and mean annual chlorophyll a concentrations (mg m-3). [13] Others have found the Pacific's Transition Zone Chlorophyll Front (chlorophyll density of 0.2 mg m-3) to be defining feature in loggerhead turtle distribution.
"Seaweed" lacks a formal definition, but seaweed generally lives in the ocean and is visible to the naked eye. The term refers to both flowering plants submerged in the ocean, like eelgrass, as well as larger marine algae. Generally, it is one of several groups of multicellular algae; red, green and brown. [7]
The cells are spherical in shape, about 2 to 10 μm in diameter, and are without flagella. Their chloroplasts contain the green photosynthetic pigments chlorophyll-a and -b. In ideal conditions cells of Chlorella multiply rapidly, requiring only carbon dioxide, water, sunlight, and a small amount of minerals to reproduce. [2]
Since primary production and phytoplankton biomass cannot currently be measured over entire ocean basins, scientists use chlorophyll α as a proxy for primary production. Modern satellite observations monitor and track global chlorophyll α abundances in the ocean via remote sensing. Higher chlorophyll concentrations generally indicate areas of ...
The concentration of chlorophyll A is used as an index of phytoplankton biomass. In the ocean, phytoplankton all contain the chlorophyll pigment, which has a greenish color. Phytoplankton are microscopic organisms that live in watery environments and changes in the amount of phytoplankton indicate the change in productivity of the ocean.