Algae

Winters on the Great Lakes are harsh – so much so that the scientists who work there often focus on the summer months, when tiny microbes at the base of the food chain were thought to be most productive. However, emerging research is changing our understanding of these winter ecosystems and shining a light on a vibrant world of winter activity just below the ice. Scientists discovered in the early 2000s that communities of diatoms – tiny photosynthesizing algae – were thriving in the light under the wind-swept lake ice. But, it turns out, that was only part of the story. As the Great Lakes’ winter ice disappears – it hit record lows in the winter of 2023-24 – new analyses show that some diatoms appear to have a different way to create energy and survive in the dark, turbid ice-free water until summer. A thin slice of Lake Erie ice collected by a scientist has diatom algae growing on the bottom....

The Caribbean’s sandy beaches, clear turquoise water and vibrant coral reefs filled with an amazing variety of sea creatures have long been the pride of the islands. The big three – sun, sea and sand – have made this tropical paradise the most tourism-reliant region in the world. But now, all of that is under threat. The explosive growth of a type of seaweed called sargassum is wreaking havoc on economies, coastal environments and human health across the islands. I study the intersection of critical infrastructure and disasters, particularly in the Caribbean. The sargassum invasion has worsened since it exploded in the region in 2011. Forecasts and the seaweed already washing up suggest that 2024 will be another alarming year. Sargassum levels were already high around many eastern Caribbean islands in late May 2024. Forecasters expect increasing sargassum washing up in June on many of the islands and in the Gulf of M...