Guest post by David Middleton
NASA Discovers Unprecedented Blooms of Ocean Plant Life…
“Part of NASA’s mission is pioneering scientific discovery, and this is like finding the Amazon rainforest in the middle of the Mojave Desert,” said Paula Bontempi, NASA’s ocean biology and biogeochemistry program manager in Washington.
Or maybe it’s more like finding a lot of trees in a part of the Amazon rainforest where you never bothered to look for trees before. Sub-ice phytoplankton blooms are not exactly “unprecedented.”
Dense sub-ice bloom of dinoflagellates in the Baltic Sea, potentially limited by high pH
Kristian Spilling
Finnish Environment Institute, PO Box 140, 00251 Helsinki, Finland
Tvärminne Zoological Station, University of Helsinki, 10900 Hanko, Finland
Received February 27, 2007.
Accepted June 27, 2007.
Final version accepted August 15, 2007
Abstract
The phytoplankton community, carbon assimilation, chlorophyll a (Chl a), pH, light and attenuation and inorganic nutrients were monitored under the ice in the coastal Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea. Maximum ice and snow thickness was 40 and 15 cm, respectively. Freshwater influence had created a halocline 1–2 m below the ice–water interface, and above this halocline, a dense bloom of dinoflagellates developed (max: >300 μg Chl a L−1). The photosynthetic uptake of carbon dioxide by this “red tide” increased the pH to a maximum of 9.0. The sub-ice phytoplankton community was dominated by the dinoflagellate Woloszynskia halophila (max: 3.6 × 107 cells L−1). The pH tolerance of this species was studied in a monoculture and the results indicate that pH >8.5 limits growth of this species at ambient irradiance. This study shows that primary productivity may raise the pH to growth limiting levels, even in marine, low-light environments where pH normally is not considered important.
INTRODUCTION
The Baltic Sea is a semi-enclosed, brackish ocean where ice is an important element of the ecosystem during winter. In the northern part of Baltic Sea and western part of Gulf of Finland, the probability of freezing is >90% and ice coverage normally lasts for 2–6 months (Mälkki and Tamsalu, 1985). There have been observations of dense, dinoflagellate dominated blooms under the ice in the Baltic Sea, but there is relatively little information about this phenomenon (Larsen et al., 1995; Haecky et al., 1998; Kremp and Heiskanen, 1999). These types of blooms are often called red tides because of the obvious discoloration of the water, but a cold-water red tide is very much in contrast to the main distribution and bloom patterns of dinoflagellates, which typically avoid winter and spring in temperate areas (Smayda and Reynolds, 2001).
[…]
For an even earlier discussion of phytoplankton blooms under Arctic pack ice, see Gradinger, 1996.
Maybe NASA should stick to Aeronautics and Space.
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All you need to make an underwater bloom of organisms in the ocean is a little fertilization from below, i.e., seepage of methane or oil. Is NASA ignorant to such concepts?
See for example this http://www.living-Petrol.blogspot.no and http://www.oilonmars.blogspot.no
” The photosynthetic uptake of carbon dioxide by this “red tide” increased the pH to a maximum of 9.0.”
I thought usual the cry was neutralisation (falsely called acidification) of the oceans. Looks like another negative feedback in the loop.
Yes….but….climate change caused it, so it’s unprecedented!! I love how the NASA release just races ahead into the conclusion that it’s another consequence of GW.
Well, we have a Fight ‘O’ Plankton on our hands now.
“Sub-ice phytoplankton blooms are not exactly “unprecedented.”
That is not what they are claiming is new. read the article more carefully.
This is very exciting.
If there is lots of plankton under the ice, small marine creatures will eat it.
That will mean that there will be food for lots of fish.
Seals can eat the fish. They will have to make holes in the ice to breath through, though.
Then maybe Polar Bears will learn to wait beside the ice holes and catch the seals and eat them.
Oh … wait a moment …. .
The headline on NASA’s article on their site is:
“NASA Discovers Unprecedented Blooms of Ocean Plant Life”
That is copied and pasted from their site.
So what do you think NASA are trying to say with that headline Mr. Mosher?
In the article they say:
“”At this point we don’t know whether these rich phytoplankton blooms have been happening in the Arctic for a long time and we just haven’t observed them before,” Arrigo said.”
Ever heard the word “spin?”, it is used a lot in the UK.
Ever heard the word “disingenuous”? Think about it.
Ivor Ward
So a thinner ice sheet allows more sunlight. Go figure.
Steven Mosher says:
September 29, 2012 at 1:20 am
“Sub-ice phytoplankton blooms are not exactly “unprecedented.”
That is not what they are claiming is new. read the article more carefully.”
I don’t know sure sounds like it from these quotes
“If someone had asked me before the expedition whether we would see under-ice blooms, I would have told them it was impossible,” said Kevin Arrigo of Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., leader of the ICESCAPE mission and lead author of the new study. “This discovery was a complete surprise.”
Guy says its impossible followed by this much more sane and logical quote
“At this point we don’t know whether these rich phytoplankton blooms have been happening in the Arctic for a long time and we just haven’t observed them before,” Arrigo said.”
Followed by religion again
“These blooms could become more widespread in the future, however, if the Arctic sea ice cover continues to thin.”
Amazing what you find when you look for it.
Blooms are not so uncommon under Antarctic ice apparently.
http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/content/41/1/57.full
They found the same huge plankton bloom in the Antarctic when open water appeared following the loss of ice-shelves there. This response of plant life to create a bigger carbon sink after ice disappears from the ocean surface exposing it to air and sunshine is an example, surely, of “negative feedback”. Funnily, I was only discussing this with friends last week.
Stephen Mosher
“That is not what they are claiming is new. read the article more carefully.”
The way I read it that is exactly what they are claiming
“”If someone had asked me before the expedition whether we would see under-ice blooms, I would have told them it was impossible,” said Kevin Arrigo of Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., leader of the ICESCAPE mission and lead author of the new study. “This discovery was a complete surprise.”
and
“Previously, researchers thought the Arctic Ocean sea ice blocked most sunlight needed for phytoplankton growth”
Mosher should read the article more carefully before telling others to do it. Viz..
“At this point we don’t know whether these rich phytoplankton blooms have been happening in the Arctic for a long time and we just haven’t observed them before,” Arrigo said.
Ignore the “could be”s and concentrate on the “we don’t know”s to separate out speculation from actual knowledge.
Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but, I seem to recall science-fiction stories from the 50s/60s, in which plankton blooms were a Bad thing, a sign of something going wrong…
And if I am correct, I have to wonder- what happened back then, that enough plankton blooms were taking place, that people were concerned about it enough to write such stories?
Bearing in mind that we are told that Arctic Ice is vanishing at an enormous rate, the real discovery surely is the existence of 3′ -thick sea ice?
The content of this report gives the impression that it is the first (recent) such research in this area. The claims made are a leap of faith, the mainstay of alarmist research.
There, fixed it for you… (Last I looked we were reduced to hitching rides on Russian rockets…)
Sidebar:
An odd thing I’ve noticed. When folks get sucked into the Warmista side of things, they slowly turn grumpy and angry. The “snippy” level goes up and they seem more angry and depressive. We can see that in the nature of comments here, as folks we’ve watched for a few years “made the slide” and now do much more “drive by snapping” and less thoughtful contemplation.
I don’t know why it is, but it clearly is.
On the flip side, Skeptics tend to a pleasant curiosity about things. Still having a sense of wonder at nature and hope for the future.
I wonder if repeating “We’re all GONNA DIE!!!!” too many times does something to folks; especially when they just get snickered at…
Per Algae:
So, think maybe fishing megatons of fish out of the oceans might reduce the stocks of things eating the algae? Think maybe thin ice lets more air and sun in? Think maybe lots more agricultural runoff fertilizes the water more?
And if they think that bloom is extreme, they’ve never seen much of the ocean and have certainly not seen a holding pond south of a cow field…
To get an astounding algae bloom: Fertilize water, add small amount of sun, make cup of coffee… (Making the coffee consumes some time so the algae can do the exponential ramp).
Notice I did not say “add heat”. Different algae thrive in different temperatures. Temp is basically irrelevant. Nutrients and sun are what matter.
Oh, and someone ought to point out all the massive oil found under the North Sea and in the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of Arabia and Gulf… The classical oil formation theory says it came from algae blooms. Blooms so thick that dozens of feet of compressed algae end up on the ocean bottom, buried for an anaerobic conversion to oil. So I think it’s very clear that algae blooms of immense size are quite natural…
This is the problem with NASA. What’s next, the Social Security Administration sending a rocket to Quaoar?
Well, blow me sideways and call me Doreen. A project called ICESCAPE – “Impacts of Climate change on the Eco-Systems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment” – finds something that it concludes to be an impact of climate change on the eco-systems and chemistry of the Arctic Pacific environment. What a lucky coincidence.
Article: “punched through three-foot thick sea ice”, abstract: “Maximum ice and snow thickness was 40 and 15 cm, respectively.” Everything becomes exaggerated with CO2 goggles on, and has no other context, it is very boring actually.
Again people does not know their geograhpy. The gulf of Finland does not lie in the Arctic, it is at 60N and goes from south of Finland towards St. Petersburgh. Secondly The Baltic sea does not even extend beyond the “Arctic circle” which anyway is a bad definition of the arctic, it only defines the latitude where the sun never sets in the midsummer. The proper definition of the Arctic( and arctic climate) is the July +10C(+50F) isotherm which REP has beautifully laid out on this map in the “Ice reference pages ” on this site . http://nsidc.org/arcticmet/images/arctic_map.gif
The Gradinger 1996 report references investigations at two stations above 82N,which is Arctic proper .
“Part of NASA’s mission is pioneering scientific discovery”
Government agency mission creep.
So what’s new. raised CO2 levels allow plant life to flourish.. even in the oceans.
THIS IS GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is how it SHOULD be !
I have been a PhD geoscientist in both pure research and the evil minerals and coal mining industry (in Australia) for over 30 years. Despite an advancing age my favorite hobby is (still) debunking the junk science of the lightweight post-modernist ‘graduates’ who, alas, overwhelmingly inhabit our state and Federal environmental regulatory agencies…..
These are people who will insist, straight-faced, in any forum, that a pH of 9 – 10 in an algal bloom in a freshwater lake surrounded by miles of pristine wilderness must, by definition, be the evil work of some nasty person or mine who discharged a toxic alkali into the lake….
Seems none of these dolts can retain the simple fact that all cyanobacteria abstract CO2 and bicarbonate from water and ‘excrete’ oxygen…..and have been doing so for (choke) a mere 3 billion years or so……
Given this week is the 50th anniversary of the publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson I claim that foul volume did not spawn any ‘great awakening’ of deep environmental wisdom. Rather, it sparked a great green religion from whose bone-headedness and diverse sophistries we suffer to this day……
Dr Svalgaard has warned us many times about NASA’s exaggerated headlines. This appears to be another example.
There really is nothing like looking for finding things.