Two mysterious plankton blooms appeared off the coast of Antarctica in 2014 and 2015.
In 2014 and 2015, two massive plankton blooms that appeared off the coast of Antarctica, baffling scientists observing them.
While examining 2014/2015 data from the Southern Ocean, Stanford's Mathieu Ardyna noticed something unusual: Two enormous plankton blooms around 1,300 miles off the coast of Antarctica and 1,400 miles from Africa. The only way these blooms could have been generated is if there had been a huge influx of iron, but most of the normal sources—such as melting sea ice—could not explain it.
By looking at modern data from satellites and floating robots, as well as water samples taken during scientific missions during the 1990s, researchers were able to show how a powerful current around Antarctica can transport the iron east. When this coincides with the arrival of spring—and the sunlight phytoplankton needs to photosynthesize—an enormous bloom can be triggered.
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