Phytoplankton’s response to climate change has its ups and downs
Initial shell-making gains adjusting to more acidic water later erased, 4-year experiment shows
ARMOR-PLATED In a four-year experiment simulating ocean acidification conditions expected under climate change, shell-building rates of Emiliania huxleyi phytoplankton (shown) dropped, rebounded and then dropped again.
Kai T. Lohbeck/GEOMAR
Armor-plated marine microbes surprised scientists a few years ago by recovering their shell-building prowess in levels of ocean acidification expected under future climate change.