More junk science: If the oceans really warmed .5 degrees C. in a century, would that really cause phytoplankton to decline sharply?

Phytoplankton in big decline | statesmanjournal.com | Statesman Journal

WASHINGTON — Despite their tiny size, plant plankton found in the world's oceans are crucial to much of life on Earth. They are the foundation of the bountiful marine food web, produce half the world's oxygen and suck up harmful carbon dioxide.

And they are declining sharply.

Worldwide phytoplankton levels are down 40 percent since the 1950s, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. The likely cause is global warming, which makes it hard for the plant plankton to get vital nutrients, researchers say.

Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Phytoplankton at warm temperatures can divide and grow maybe 2 times a day in very warm temperatures. In cold temperatures in Antarctica, phytoplankton will divide about only once every 2 days.

Plankton Paradise | The Why Files

As this satellite image of the South American coast shows, warm southern waters are a haven for phytoplankton. The tiny marine plants grow like mad during long, warm summer days.

Rising Temperatures [Allegedly] Harm Ocean Plant Life - WSJ.com

Scientists, many of whom believe the increase to be linked to global climate change, estimate the oceans have warmed by roughly half a degree Celsius on average over the past 100 years.

Phytoplankton has flourished in many coastal areas because increased runoff from rivers brings nutrients that the algae gorge on. But no one has properly assessed whether the global oceans are losing or gaining phytoplankton, which forms the base of the marine food chain, from crustaceans to fish and ultimately to humans.

Consistent satellite-based measurements of the algae exist only from 1997. Scientists at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, instead used data obtained with a simple oceanography device used since the late 1800s known as a Secchi—a disk lowered into the water to measure phytoplankton abundance.