The Most Powerful Creatures You’ve Never Seen
BY FARRAH LEONE
The microbiological organisms of the marine world create a splash way too big for their size. The feats of the tiny range from resourceful to beautiful and even frightening. Coccolithophores have been impacting our world since the day they first evolved. Here are the ways that microscopic creatures impact the marine world.
Coccolithophores are algae made up of platelets called coccoliths.
2. They are predicted to be responsible for half of all marine CaCO3 precipitation deposits.
3. Coccolithophores produce a chemical called dimethylsulfoniopropionate which aids in increasing cloud cover.
4. They are also responsible for the brightening of the colors in the ocean due to the angle at which their calcium carbonate composition scatters light. (Southern Ocean photo)
5. The White Cliffs of Dover were created from Coccolithophores that were compressed at the bottom of the ocean about 100 million years ago.
