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One of the most impressive photosynthesizers is a cyanobacterium called Prochlorococcus. It is estimated to be more abundant than any other photosynthesizer on the planet, and to be responsible for producing 20 percent of the oxygen in the atmosphere.
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Meet the obscure microbe that influences climate, ocean ecosystems, and perhaps even evolution

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Jellyfish produce mucus, especially when stressed, which can interact with oil and break it down. This moon jellyfish is sloughing off mucus that has mixed with droplets of oil.
Article

How Jellyfish Break Down Oil After a Spill

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The Greenland glacier Jakobshavn Isbrae is massive, at around 40 miles long and more than a mile thick.
Article

Up Close and Personal With the Fastest Glacier in the World

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Swimmers brave the waters in the shadow of a coal-fired power plant. Coal plants like this one emit CO2 into our atmosphere which is warming the planet and altering the chemistry of the ocean.
Overview

Climate Change

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Scientists remove remove the whale fossil plaster jacket from the r
Photo

Excavating the Fossil

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Smithsonian scientists apply a plaster bandage cap to a block of rock containing fossils
Photo

Securing the Fossil

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The giant squid’s enormous eyes help it find prey in the dark ocean depths.
Photo

Largest Eye in the World, Giant Squid

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Elephant seals' eyes are specialized to dim light and, in particular, to light at the wavelength of 485 nm -- which is the same wavelength given off by the bioluminescent lanternfish that are the seals' main prey.
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Elephant Seals Laze on the Beach

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Small foram shells in seafloor sediment.
Article

Little Critters that tell a BIG Story: Benthic Foraminifera and the Gulf Oil Spill

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a squalodontid skull is dislodged after a plaster jacket is applied
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Dislodging the Fossil

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A diver cares for the reef by cleaning up discarded fishing gear and garbage.
Article

Reef Rescue: Protect Coral Reefs with Your Actions

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