Phytoplankton are responsible for producing the oxygen we breathe as well as soaking up the carbon we emit and feeding the fish we eat. They are a crucial part of ocean ecosystems and essential to life as we know it on Earth. NASA is launching a new satellite in early 2024 to study these aquatic organisms.
Instruments on the PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud and ocean Ecosystem) satellite will observe the ocean and collect data on the colors of light reflecting off it, telling us where different types of phytoplankton are thriving.
The Ocean Color instrument on PACE will be able to distinguish more than 100 different wavelengths, making it possible to identify phytoplankton by species from space for the first time.
Phytoplankton are tiny organisms that float on the ocean surface and other water bodies. Like land-based plants, phytoplankton facilitate photosynthesis to absorb sunlight and carbon dioxide and generate oxygen and carbohydrates, which are carbon filled sugars. These sugars make them the center of the ocean food web.
Although phytoplankton make up less than 1% of the total biomass of Earth that photosynthesize, they deliver about 45% of global primary production. Without phytoplankton, oceanic food webs would collapse.