Tag: Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML)

A new study by scientists at Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) has revealed a significant long-term decline in ocean productivity across large parts of the north-east Atlantic, raising concerns about the future health of marine food webs, fisheries and the ocean’s ability to absorb and sequester carbon dioxide.  Using more than two decades of satellite observations, researchers analysed changes in microalgae net primary production – the process by which microscopic marine plants convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into organic matter, which forms the foundation of marine ecosystems.  The study, led by PML’s Dr Gavin Tilstone and Dr Peter Land, examined satellite data spanning 1997 to 2018…

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A new study has, for the first time, recorded and measured just how fast microplastics move through the gut passage of a key zooplankton species in real time – and used those measurements to estimate how much plastic these tiny animals might be transporting – and sinking down – through the ocean each day. Zooplankton are already emerging as a major biological pathway for microplastics to transport through marine ecosystems. With over 125 trillion microplastic particles estimated to have accumulated in the ocean, understanding how these pollutants are moving through…

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A new study shows that marine heatwaves on the seafloor could be more than 50% more frequent in future than at the surface of the ocean during hot summer months, a concerning prospect for bottom-dwelling species that cannot escape the rising temperatures, with ripple effects across entire ecosystems and humans alike. What is a marine heatwave? A period lasting at least 5 days where sea temperature is greater than the 90th percentile of historical temperatures for that time of year. Led by PML’s Dr Robert J. Wilson, the study investigated how marine…

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