INCOIS have discovered a way to measure the quantity of chlorophyll-a that indicates abundance of phytoplankton in the Bay of Bengal in real-time

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  INCOIS have discovered a way to measure the quantity of chlorophyll-a that indicates abundance of phytoplankton in the Bay of Bengal in real-time

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Prerequisites –  

• INCOIS - Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services
• Phytoplankton- They are tiny microscopic floating plants found in water bodies.

Key Points - 

• Study of phytoplankton biomass is done by analyzing chlorophyll-a, a dominant pigment found in its cells.
• Phytoplanktons contribute more than half of the oxygen in the environment and reduce global warming by absorbing human-induced carbon dioxide. They serve as the base of the ocean food chain. Important bioindicators regulating life in oceans, their abundance determines the overall health of the ocean ecosystem.
• The scientists closely tracked the long-term trends of chlorophyll-a in the northwestern Bay of Bengal studying satellite data spanning over the last 16 years (Jan 2003 to Dec 2018).
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer), NASA’s VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) sensor and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s OCM-2 (Ocean Colour Monitor-2) were used for satellite data.

Results - 

• There were two peaks of chlorophyll-a — the primary peak occurred during the pre-southwest monsoon due to the recurrent phytoplankton bloom in the coastal water and the secondary peak occurred during the end of the southwest monsoon, spreading to far offshore areas. This peaks might be caused by events like upwelling, wind-induced vertical mixing, convective overturn and chemicals from various sources including river runoff.
• Study reveals that the study area experienced maximum spatial variability during pre-southwest monsoon with salinity, and nutrients, the major controlling factors for the abundance and distribution of phytoplankton.
• Increase in nutrients could tell an overall improved health status of the ecosystems as a whole; at the same time excessive phytoplanktons could be detrimental to ocean health because of eutrophication (water body becomes overly enriched with minerals and nutrients which induce excessive growth of algae or algal bloom).
• This process also results in oxygen depletion of the water body affecting other aquatic animals.

The road ahead - 

• Continuous monitoring of the ocean ecosystem is the need of the hour to devise mitigation systems to encounter disruption caused by algal bloom because of excessive phytoplankton enrichment in the coastal water.

Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

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