A project jointly funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation is heading west from Seattle, straight for the twilight zone. Using two research vessels, the Export Processes in the Ocean from Remote Sensing (EXPORTS) oceanographic campaign will study the fates and carbon cycle impacts of microscopic underwater organisms. The large multidisciplinary team, including members from more than 20 different research institutions, is accompanied by advanced underwater robotics and other instruments on a month-long campaign to study the secret lives of tiny organisms called phytoplankton, and the animals that eat them. These organisms can have a large impact on Earth's carbon cycle, storing carbon dioxide in a part of the ocean known as the twilight zone, between 650 and 3300 feet below the surface.
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NASA ID
GSFC_20180808_m13032_EXPORTS
Date Created
August 8, 2018
Center
GSFC
Media Type
video
Photographer
Michael Starobin
Location
Goddard Space Flight Center
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