The dubbed Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP), a NASA space-based sensor, was a satellite-mounted LIDAR instrument, which was engaged in monitoring the phytoplankton growth cycles in the Arctic Ocean since 2006. The results obtained by the analysis of data collected in the last 10 years provide new insights into the push-pull relationship between phytoplankton and its predators.

CALIOP NASA Space-Based Sensor

The NASA space-based sensor employed laser beams to monitor the growth of phytoplankton in different weather conditions. Michael Behrenfeld from Oregon State University's College of Agricultural Sciences said, "Phytoplankton are the foundation of the ocean's food web. Commercial fisheries, marine mammals and birds all depend on the blooms."

He also stressed on the importance of these kinds of studies by saying that, "It's really important for us to understand what controls these boom-bust cycles and how they might change in the future, because the dynamics of plankton communities have implications for all the other organisms throughout the web."

In addition, phytoplankton are crucial to Earth's carbon cycle, because they are the primary producers in the oceans and they absorb enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, which is the basic mechanism of photosynthetic fixation of atmospheric carbon dioxide, reported Deccan Chronicale.

New Findings on Phytoplankton Growth Cycles

According to the data obtained from the NASA space-based sensor, the phytoplankton grow at very high rates and their blooms can outpace the predatory organisms that prey on them. However, when the initial growth rate stabilizes, the predatory organisms start consuming the phytoplankton, which brings an end for the bloom. The findings were published in the journal Nature Geoscience, reported News Nation.

"The finding goes against the commonly held belief that blooms begin when phytoplankton growth rates reach a threshold rate and then stop when growth rates crash," Behrenfeld said.

The data also provides valuable information regarding the annual changes push-pull relationship between the phytoplankton and its predators over the last 10 years.

"The take-home message is that if we want to understand the production of the polar systems as a whole, we have to focus both on changes in ice cover and changes in the ecosystems that regulate this delicate balance between predators and prey," Behrenfeld further said.