Phytoplankton bloom observed in the Barents Sea (North of Norway) in August 2010 by the ocean color sensor MODIS onboard NASA satellite Aqua. Changes in ocean color result from modifications in the phytoplankton composition and concentration. The green colors are likely associated with the presence of diatoms. The shades of light blue result from the occurrence of coccolithophores, phytoplankton organisms that strongly reflect light due to their chalky shells - Source : NASA's Earth Observatory (http:/earthobservatory.nasa.gov)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium carriense var volans (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Plankton
Plankton are a multitude of living organisms adrift in the currents.Our food, our fuel, and the air we breathe originate in plankton.
Annelid worm (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Deployment of a profiling float (Photo : Jean-Jacques Pangrazi)
Phytoplankton bloom observed by the ocean color sensor MODIS onboard NASA satellite Terra in May 2010. The bloom spreads broadly in the North Atlantic from Iceland to the Bay of Biscay - Source : NASA's Earth Observatory (http:/earthobservatory.nasa.gov)
Deployment of a profiling float (Photo : Jean-Jacques Pangrazi)
Drifting profiling floats in the Atlantic
Siphonophores - The longest animals on the planet
Cousins of corals, siphonophores are colonies of specialized individuals called zoids. Some catch and digest their prey, others swim, or lay eggs or sperm.
Surface chlorophyll a concentration in the Mediterranean Sea.
Préparation des mésocosmes sur le ponton du laboratoire d'Océanographie de Villefranche lors de l'expérience menée en rade de Villefranche en février 2013 (© L. Maugendre, LOV)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium furca (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium gravidum. In the video one can observe the movement of one of the two flagella. (Video : Sophie Marro)
Vue sous-marine d'un groupe de mésocosmes montrant un plongeur récoltant les pièges à sediment (© Stareso)
Diatom genus Hemiaulus (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Les Diatomées - Bacillaria
Colonie de diatomées du genre Bacillaria dont les individus peuvent glisser les uns par rapport aux autres.
Foraminifera Ruber (Photo : Fabien Lombard)