‘Invisible forest’ of algae grows as ocean warms

New research shows that an “invisible forest” of phytoplankton is thriving in part of our warming ocean. Phytoplankton are tiny drifting organisms that do about half of the planet’s “primary production” (forming living cells by photosynthesis). The new study by the University of Exeter examined phytoplankton at the ocean surface and the “subsurface” to see how climate variability is affecting them.