10 September 2012
Ocean Drifters film and educational package for secondary schools launched
OCEAN DRIFTERS describes how the PLANKTON underpins the marine food web, created our oil and gas, and shaped the landscape around us. Today, this secret world of life still creates 50% of the oxygen in the air we breathe, the clouds in the sky, and the smell of the seaside. Using remarkable imagery, Ocean Drifters reveals the central role these creatures play in the global carbon cycle, shaping life on Earth and influencing our lives in ways most of us never imagine. Now, rising sea temperatures due to climate change are altering the abundance, distribution, and seasonality of these remarkable creatures with ensuing ramifications for the marine food chain, commercial fisheries, human health, and the ecology of our entire planet. Ocean Drifters is 16 minutes long and is accompanied by a clear narrative that describes the diversity, behaviours and adaptations of the plankton along with their role in the marine food web. Using photographs of the landscape around us that include the white chalk cliffs of the South Downs, Dartmoor's granite tors, and an erupting Icelandic volcano, the film also illustrates the role of the plankton in the global carbon cycle. The narration also introduces current topics in marine science, including ocean acidification and climate change. This web site provides some additional background material to support some of the scientific topics covered by the film. Further information can be found in the book, Ocean Drifters, a secret world beneath the waves.
