Did you know there is another source of oxygen besides plants and trees? As we all know, all living beings on Earth take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide to breathe. The ones that help us the most in this process are plants and trees. Although the main sources of oxygen on earth are plants and trees, 50% of the oxygen comes from somewhere else. Scientists estimate that half of the oxygen production on Earth comes from the ocean. The majority of this production is from oceanic Phytoplankton- drifting plants, algae, and some bacteria that can photosynthesize. Although these Phytoplankton are too small to be visible to the human eye by themselves, when many Phytoplankton clump together they look like green ocean slime.
Calculating the exact percentage of oxygen produced in the ocean is difficult because the amounts are constantly changing. Scientists use satellite images to monitor plankton, tiny plants in the ocean that produce oxygen through photosynthesis. The amount of plankton changes with the seasons and depending on factors like nutrients and temperature in the water. Studies have discovered that oxygen levels in certain areas can change throughout the day with the tides.
Although the ocean creates 50% of the Earth’s oxygen, about the same amount is used by marine life including land animals and sea creatures to breathe. Both plants and animals use it for energy. When plants and animals die in the ocean, their decay also consumes oxygen. Although there is oxygen in the atmosphere, most of the oxygen comes from land sources. This becomes a problem during algal blooms. When these blooms die, the decomposition process can use up oxygen faster than it can be replaced which creates areas with very low oxygen, known as hypoxia or dead zones, where most marine life cannot survive. NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science conducts research to understand algal blooms and hypoxia to help protect the ocean ecosystem and human environment.
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