| Summary: | Primary productivity, or the rate at which energy is converted to organic substances, can be determined by analyzing trends in chlorophyll-a in an ocean region over time. Chlorophyll-a is a chemical produced by photosynthetic organisms that is used to convert light into chemicals which they can use for energy. Therefore, primary productivity and the amount of chlorophyll-a present in a region have a direct correlation. The purpose of this experiment was to determine how quickly the primary productivity in the region is changing, as any sort of rapid change could have any number of unknown effects o the ecosystem. Using NASA's Terra and Aqua satellite's pictures, one can analyze fluctuations and trends in chlorophyll-a over time so as to see how current circumstances, namely global warming, have affected primary productivity in the region. The Arctic Ocean in particular is of note due to the increasing amount of freshwater input which is mainly a product of global warming causing increased ice melting and runoff. The greater water clarity afforded by the input of extra freshwater causes an overall increase in primary production while still having abnormally low primary productivity rates in the winter due to sea ice covering much of the ocean's surface. Over the past decade, the primary productivity in the region has increased by approximately 20%, an alarmingly rapid rate which shows no sign of lessening. Keywords: environment, global warming, arctic ocean
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