The information provided by NASA's Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization sheds new light regarding the complex food web in the polar regions. The new data helps scientists better understand the growth and decline of the phytoplankton population, as well as the implications of the phenomena.

Gathering Information From Space

One of the satellite instruments that orbit the Earth is called CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization) and helps NASA better understand the population fluctuations in the case of the phytoplankton from polar regions. New data provided by CALIOP helped researchers improve their assumptions related to why the number of organisms that compose plankton seems to boom sometimes, only to decline later.

It seems everything is tightly connected in the food web of the polar waters and the size of the phytoplankton population also depends on the other organisms in the water. Thus, at some point, phytoplankton experiences an accelerated rate of development and as a result it becomes even more common in the waters.

The organisms that feed on it develop as well and reach the point in which they stop the growth. This explanation is more complex and accurate than the previous one, which stated that the booms and declines of the phytoplankton populations only depended on it developing beyond or under certain thresholds.

Minuscule, But Very Important

This new information provided by CALIOP is extremely important for the scientists in order to understand what is normal or abnormal regarding the phytoplankton population density. Although very small, the tiny green plants are at the base of the food chain and numerous fish, birds, and mammals depend on their existence.

Moreover, the little organisms also contribute to maintaining appropriate levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the water, which is vital for the other sea inhabitants. Any abnormalities can result in severe problems for the ecosystem, so the collection of information continues, which is not simpler and more accurate due to the new technology, according to Chris Hostetler, research scientist at Langley.

"CALIOP was a game-changer in our thinking about ocean remote sensing from space. We were able to study the workings of the high-latitude ocean ecosystem during times of year when we were previously completely blind." noted Hostetler.

However, even if the relation between phytoplankton and other sea creatures was understood, scientists are still worried about the polar ecosystem. Climate change and the melting of ice have a much stronger impact on the populations than the creatures that feed on phytoplankton. As a result, CALIOP will be calibrated to analyze even more factors in order to better keep track of the changes.