Seafarer citizen scientist ocean transparency data as a resource for phytoplankton and climate research

PLoS One. 2017 Dec 6;12(12):e0186092. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186092. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

The oceans' phytoplankton that underpin the marine food chain appear to be changing in abundance due to global climate change. Here, we compare the first four years of data from a citizen science ocean transparency study, conducted by seafarers using home-made Secchi Disks and a free Smartphone application called Secchi, with contemporaneous satellite ocean colour measurements. Our results show seafarers collect useful Secchi Disk measurements of ocean transparency that could help future assessments of climate-induced changes in the phytoplankton when used to extend historical Secchi Disk data.

MeSH terms

  • Climate Change*
  • Oceans and Seas*
  • Phytoplankton*
  • Remote Sensing Technology
  • Research*
  • Smartphone

Grants and funding

Whirlwind Charitable Trust provided funding for this study. Pixalytics LTD provided support in the form of salaries for authors [SL], but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.