For the first time in history, scientists* have succeeded in measuring the physiology of marine phytoplankton through satellite measurements of its fluorescence. With this new tool, it will become possible for researchers to continuously keep an eye on the ocean’s health and productivity. Since it is based on satellite images the method works all over the world.

“Until now we’ve really struggled to make this technology work and give us the information we need,” says Michael Behrenfeld, an Oregon State University professor of botany. “The fluorescence measurements allow us to see from outer space the faint red glow of tiny marine plants, all over the world, and tell whether or not they are healthy. That’s pretty cool.”

Knowing how the world’s phytoplankton populations are doing doesn’t only tell us about the plankton it self; it also provides us with valuable clues that can help us assess a long row of other processes on the planet. By studying phytoplankton, it is for instance possible to learn about climate change and desertification.

* The break through is the result of the successful collaboration of Oregon State University, the NASA Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry Program, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, University of Maine/Orono, University of California/Santa Barbara, University of Southern Mississippi, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Cornell University, and the University of California/Irvine.

“Every single spot of the ocean along the West Coast is affected by 10 to 15 different human activities annually”, says Ben Halpern, a marine ecologist at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

In a two-year long study, Halpern and his colleagues have documented the way humans are affecting the ocean off the West Coast of the United States. The research team has overlaid data on the location and intensity of 25 human derived sources of ecological stress, including commercial and recreational fishing, land-based sources of pollution, and climate change. The information has been used to construct a composite map of the status of West Coast marine ecosystems.

“We found two remarkable and unexpected results in this research,” says Halpern. “Ocean management needs to move beyond single-sector management and towards comprehensive

ecosystem-based management if it is to be effective at protecting and sustaining ocean health. Also, the global** results for this region were highly correlated with the regional results, suggesting that the global results can provide valuable guidance for regional efforts around the world.”

The study results show that hotspots of cumulative impact are located in coastal areas close to urban centres and heavily polluted watersheds.

“This important analysis of the geography and magnitude of land-based stressors should help focus attention on the hot-spots where coordinated management of land and ocean activities is needed,” said Phillip Taylor, section head in NSF’s* Division of Ocean Sciences.

You can find more information in the article from the research team published in the journal Conservation Letters on May 11. The project was conducted at NCEAS, which is primarily funded by NSF’s Division of Environmental Biology.

* National Science Foundation (NSF)

** The lead scientists on the U.S. study have already carried out a similar analysis on a global scale; the results were published last year in Science.