Over the past fifty years, land temperatures have increased at a decadal rate almost twice that compared to the past 100 years. Warming Earth’s atmosphere creates a rise in ocean heat content, and alters wind patterns and storm systems that impact surface layer mixing and ocean stratification, affecting nutrient availability. Changes in ocean temperatures and nutrient conditions are expected to impact many organisms including phytoplankton, the ocean’s major producer. To evaluate how climate change threatens marine ecosystems, this project studied the impact of rising sea surface temperature and altered nutrient availability on the phytoplankton Thalassiosira.

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• Ecology