A new study discovered how the rapid spread of microscopic marine algae in the North Atlantic ocean is apparently a significant effect of environmental changes such as increasing carbon dioxide levels in the water.

Scientists from the John Hopkins University discovered that there is a ten times increase in population numbers of single celled algae known as coccolithophores along with protists that are found dwelling throughout global oceans, beginning from 1965 to 2010. In the last 50 years, these tiny plants that become calcified and build a foundation for marine ecosystems, increased from 2 percent to a whopping 20 percent in 2010, where the spikes emerged and recorded in the 1990s. 

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According to Anand Gnanadesikan fo the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Johns Hopkins, there is definitely something strange happening in the oceans, as this is occurring at a faster rate than it should. 

The researchers based their data from prior surveys from the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation (SAHFOS) Continuous Plankton Recorder that were carried out in the North Atlantic Ocean and North Sea since the 1960s. They found out that the rapid increase in population of the coccolithophores is causing this increase in carbon dioxide levels.

Scientists still cannot confirm right now if this rapid increasing marine algae would benefit or become a threat to the planet's oceans. This can be an advantage for creatures that feed on tiny plants however, the negative repercussions are yet to be determined. 

However, the balance in marine ecosystems are determined by how each species can thrive in the environment and if one or many species will increase or decrease in populations, then this can lead to dramatic changes and effects to other units in the ecosystem, and ultimately to the entire marine life as well.

According to co-author of the study William Balch from the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, this new study provides new information about the effects of increasing carbon to marine creatures and ecosystems, especially now since the U.N. climate talks are now happening as world leaders vow to make a pact to cut down carbon emissions.

The new study is published in the journal Science. 

Tagsrapid plankton growth oceans increasing carbon dioxide levels, increasing carbon dioxide levels in oceans, rapid plankton growth oceans, Carbon emissions, Marine Ecosystems, Atlantic Ocean, coccolithophores