For the first time, scientists have discovered extensive blooms of phytoplankton under Arctic Ocean ice, contradicting the widely held conviction that such blooms could not occur under sea ice that blocked the sun’s rays from triggering the blooms. Scientists on a NASA-sponsored expedition to the Arctic Ocean say the blooms are likely related to the rapid thinning of Arctic sea ice, which allows sunlight to penetrate the ice and trigger blooms. Working on a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker last summer in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas off Alaska, the scientists discovered massive blooms that extended from the sea-ice edge to 72 miles inside the pack ice. The blooms did not occur under thick ice, but rather under melt ponds and nearly translucent melting ice. “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. The research, published in Science, sheds new light on how the Arctic Ocean ecosystem may be reacting to a rapidly warming climate, affecting marine life from phytoplankton at the base of the food chain to gray whales at the top.
Major NASA Discovery Finds Phytoplankton Blooms Under Arctic Ice
More From E360
-
Biodiversity
Grim Dilemma: Should We Kill One Owl Species to Save Another?
-
INTERVIEW
On Gulf Coast, an Activist Rallies Her Community Against Gas Exports
-
Climate
With CO2 Levels Rising, World’s Drylands Are Turning Green
-
WATER
As World’s Springs Vanish, Ripple Effects Alter Ecosystems
-
Climate
The Race to Save Glacial Ice Records Before They Melt Away
-
INTERVIEW
Turning Brownfields to Blooming Meadows, With the Help of Fungi
-
Solutions
To Foil a Deadly Pest, Scientists Aim for a Beetle-Resistant Ash Tree
-
Climate
Could the Global Boom in Greenhouses Help Cool the Planet?
-
Biodiversity
In North Macedonia, an Ancient Lake Faces Modern Threats
-
Solutions
How a ‘Citizen Map’ Is Helping Brazil Prepare for Next Big Flood
-
ANALYSIS
A Key Court Ruling Could Weaken U.S. Environmental Protections
-
WILDLIFE
As ‘Zombie’ Deer Disease Spreads, Scientists Look for Answers