oceans

Japan sees more local and distant tsunami events than any other country — indeed the very term “tsunami” comes from the Japanese language. The massive quake and tsunami in March 2011 that have devastated northern parts of that country are situated in a long natural and cultural history that has prompted Japan to take ever-more elaborate preventative measures.

In the past, studies of large-scale changes to the Earth’s oceans have been restricted both by the limited nature of physical sampling and the reality that often these changes occur over great lengths of time.

Phytoplankton are microscopic, free-floating plants that form the basis of the aquatic food chain. They also account for half of all photosynthetic activity, and thus produce much of the atmosphere’s oxygen.  Changes in the level of phytoplankton activity would have important implications on the health of the entire ecosystem, including human life.