Equatorial Atlantic 'pretty much dead' says scientist as plankton wiped out
Edit: This article has been revised to make clear the samples studied by the Global Oceanic Environmental Survey Foundation were taken from the equatorial
“Given that plankton is the life-support system for the planet and humanity cannot survive without it, the result is disturbing,” says marine biologist and former Scottish Government adviser Dr Howard Dryden. “It will be gone in around 25 years. Our results confirmed a 90% reduction in primary productivity in the Atlantic. Effectively, the Atlantic Ocean is now pretty much dead.”
According to the Sunday Post, the research blames chemical pollution from plastics, farm fertilisers and pharmaceuticals. Previously, it was thought the amount of plankton had halved since the 1940s, but the evidence gathered by the Scots suggest 90% has now vanished.
I just quoted some key excerpts...rest of the article linked