NASA said a new ocean discovery made in Arctic waters is like a rain forest that has more microscopic marine life essential to human life than any other place on Earth, thanks to global warming. The ICESCAPE project’s findings were announced and published this week in the journal Science.
From 2010-2011, NASA used a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker to scour Alaska’s northern and western coasts. Using sophisticated technology, the “Impacts of Climate on EcoSystems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment” team explored changes in the ecosystems on the ocean floor of the Arctic, citing a PRNews report.
However, they were surprised to discover the evidence of phytoplankton during a time in which it should have retreated for the winter.
Paula Bontempi, NASA’s ocean biology and biogeochemistry program manager in Washington said this about the “biological” discovery of in the Arctic Ocean:
“Part of NASA’s mission is pioneering scientific discovery, and this is like finding the Amazon rainforest in the middle of the Mojave Desert. We embarked on ICESCAPE to validate our satellite ocean-observing data in an area of the Earth that is very difficult to get to. We wound up making a discovery that hopefully will help researchers and resource managers better understand the Arctic.”
The new finding sheds light on the impact of global warming. As the polar ice cap regions melt, many things — never seen by human eyes — are being discovered for the first time.
The new ocean discovery by NASA is not all good news. In fact, if the Arctic ice continues to thin, animals that depend on the phytoplankton bloom, like whales, may miss their seasonal timing.
In other words, when the bloom is at its peak, the creatures may miss the feast. Climate changes can only explain this possible disruption in traditional cycles.
FROM | http://www.examiner.com