What are Phytoplankton and Why Are They Important?
Breathe deep… and thank phytoplankton.
Why? Like plants on land, these microscopic creatures capture energy from the sun and carbon from the atmosphere to produce oxygen.
Phytoplankton are microscopic organisms that live in watery environments, both salty and fresh. Though tiny, these creatures are the foundation of the aquatic food chain. They not only sustain healthy aquatic ecosystems, they also provide important clues on climate change.
Let’s explore what these creatures are and why they are important for NASA research.
Phytoplankton are diverse
Phytoplankton are an extremely diversified group of organisms, varying from photosynthesizing bacteria, e.g. cyanobacteria, to diatoms, to chalk-coated coccolithophores. Studying this incredibly diverse group is key to understanding the health - and future - of our ocean and life on earth.
Their growth depends on the availability of carbon dioxide, sunlight and nutrients. Like land plants, these creatures require nutrients such as nitrate, phosphate, silicate, and calcium at various levels. When conditions are right, populations can grow explosively, a phenomenon known as a bloom.
Phytoplankton blooms in the South Pacific Ocean with sediment re-suspended from the ocean floor by waves and tides along much of the New Zealand coastline.
Phytoplankton are Foundational
Phytoplankton are the foundation of the aquatic food web, feeding everything from microscopic, animal-like zooplankton to multi-ton whales. Certain species of phytoplankton produce powerful biotoxins that can kill marine life and people who eat contaminated seafood.
Phytoplankton are Part of the Carbon Cycle
Phytoplankton play an important part in the flow of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the ocean. Carbon dioxide is consumed during photosynthesis, with carbon being incorporated in the phytoplankton, and as phytoplankton sink a portion of that carbon makes its way into the deep ocean (far away from the atmosphere).
Changes in the growth of phytoplankton may affect atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, which impact climate and global surface temperatures. NASA field campaigns like EXPORTS are helping to understand the ocean's impact in terms of storing carbon dioxide.
Phytoplankton are Key to Understanding a Changing Ocean
NASA studies phytoplankton in different ways with satellites, instruments, and ships. Upcoming missions like Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) - set to launch Jan. 2024 - will reveal interactions between the ocean and atmosphere. This includes how they exchange carbon dioxide and how atmospheric aerosols might fuel phytoplankton growth in the ocean.
Information collected by PACE, especially about changes in plankton populations, will be available to researchers all over the world. See how this data will be used.
The Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) is integrated onto the PACE spacecraft in the cleanroom at Goddard Space Flight Center. Credit: NASA
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Deathbed Confession
Summary: Your imminent death leads you to tell Parker how you feel about him
Main Character(s): Alden Parker, Timothy McGee, Jessica Knight, Jimmy Palmer, Kasie Hines
Words: 1630 (approx)
Notes: This is my first time writing for Parker, well it's been a while since I've written anything so I'm a little rusty. Hope you like it.
The only reason you were in here was to avoid him. Him who replaced your father, Gibbs, a few months ago. And despite your objections and obvious distaste for his presence at the beginning, somehow you managed to fall for him. Him being Special Agent Alden Parker. Your boss.
Falling for your boss is never a good idea. Obviously. But it was just something that happened, and it completely took you by surprise. One late night case and being stuck in a car with him, in close quarters. He sat there, talking, trying to get to know you, probably to get you to accept him. Everyone else on the team had pretty much accepted him now but you, you were still acting like you hated him being there. At least that’s what he thought. But because you were never close to him in the first place, no one noticed the slight change of you trying to avoid him every chance you got. Except for Jimmy, he noticed when you spent more time down in autopsy. Eventually you got tired of his questions, and you told him about your “crush”.
You thought about telling him your feelings but come on, look at him. He was perfect in your eyes, and you weren’t good enough for him. That’s what you told yourself.
Don’t tell him. You’ll only get rejected. Then it will be so awkward, you’ll have to leave.
Well, that train of thought led to you being here. Sitting on the floor of Kasie’s lab, dying.
You, Jimmy and Kasie all inhaled a biotoxin and a lethal one at that. So stupid.
Kasie hummed as she took a whiff of the flask, “Skotch? Bourbon?”
Jimmy leaned in and sniffed the open container, “Vodka” he shrugged, “I don’t know,”
You laughed and shook your head, “I do, I know my vodka,” You leaned in to take a sniff and then leaned away after you did, “Definitely not vodka. Not bourbon either,”
Jimmy suggested giving a shot to Mass Spec, Kasie nodded and did exactly that. It wasn’t long after that, that you got a call from Parker.
“Don’t open the flask,” he said through the phone, his voice full of urgency.
Before you could ask why, the alarm for the lab started going off, causing the lab to shut down, “Too late,” you replied to him.
You weren’t one to panic. Usually. But being trapped in a death box was starting to get to you.
“(Y/N)? You, okay?” Jimmy asked, to which you shook your head.
“I can’t be trapped,”
Jimmy scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, “You’re claustrophobic? Since when?”
“Pretty much always,” you laughed, pacing around the lab, “Only difference, I had dad or Ducky to help me with it. And they aren’t here,”
It wasn’t long after that, that Kasie and Jimmy were butting heads. You had tried to stop them but neither of them would listen. Then Carol told them to knock it off.
“I want you to stop anything and everything that's gonna elevate your blood pressures, especially arguing.”
“We weren’t arguing,” Jimmy spoke up almost in a childish manner.
“We were,”
You were getting tired of their bickering, and that’s when you snapped. You threw your hands up in the air and said, “Oh MY GOD, I’m gonna kill you before the toxin does,” If you had you’re gun on you, you were sure you would’ve just used it there and then.
Carol then told you some good news, “Atropine will have no effect.”
“So why? What? You're-you're telling us that we're supposed to just, like, sit in this box and wait to die in a couple of hours?” Jimmy asked, getting agitated. He tried to exit the lab, to spend the last hours of his life with his daughter, but Carol told him that he’d only be killing her and that the toxin they had inhaled was designed to have no visible effects, so that the victim exposed wouldn’t know they were infecting everyone around them. More good news.
All you could do is wait. Wait to die.
At some point, the team came down to talk to you guys, see how you were doing. Parker told you to hold on and that they would get you the antidote.
You chuckled, "You don't need to give us hope, boss," you uttered. Then you looked up at Parker and queried, "Seeing as how I'm on my way out, can I tell you something?"
“You can tell me anything,” he replied, kneeling beside the glass. He definitely was not expecting you to say what you did. No one did.
“I love you,”
Parker hesitated for a moment. His mouth opened but he didn’t reply. You guessed he didn’t want to break the heart of a dying woman. There was an awkward silence before you spoke again. “It’s alright. You don’t have to say anything.” you told him, you looked away from him to the two others in the room, “Promise me something?”
“Yeah?”
“If you do get it. If there isn’t time?” you started, he nodded for you to continue, “You save them.” sniffing you added, “Not me.”
You closed your eyes and McGee, who has been a big brother to you for most of your life, began banging on the door, worry covering his features, “No, (Y/N) you stay awake,”
“It’s okay, Timmy. I’m okay with it,” you spoke through coughs, “I wanna see my mom again,” You nodded, contented, before closing your eyes to drift off into a peaceful sleep. You weren't scared anymore. You knew that you were going to be reunited with your mom soon. You had seen her before when you passed out in the lab. It felt incredibly real, as if she was truly by your side, and you wanted to experience it again.
As you gradually regained consciousness, a series of beeps pierced through the hazy fog of your mind. Blinking a few times, you cautiously opened your eyes, allowing them to adjust to the sudden brightness that flooded the room. You scanned your surroundings, only to discover that you were lying in a hospital room. However, what truly struck you was the sight of Parker, peacefully sleeping in the chair right by your side, a sight that was completely unexpected.
"Hey, you're awake," you hear, looking up to see your friend Jess hugging a giant stuffed bear.
You laughed as she and the bear squeezed through the door, “Oh my God. Is that for me?"
“Nope, for Jimmy,”
“Oh, of course,”
“I bought you him,” she said, nodding to your sleeping boss.
You groan, “My god, now I have to transfer. I never would have admitted my feelings if I knew I was going to live,”
Jess tilted her head and looked at you, you asked her what was wrong, “You didn’t hear him did you?” Confused, you asked Jess what she meant. She just nodded to the sleeping boss and said, "He said it back."
You laughed and shook your head, “No he didn’t,”
“Yeah, he did,” you heard, but the voice was lower and definitely didn’t belong to Jess. You looked over to the man beside you who was now awake, “He did say it back,”
He was referring to himself in the 3rd person so you decided to use that to question it, stuttering slightly as nerves built up in your body, “A-And why did he s-say it back,”
The man calmly replied, “He probably shouldn’t have, he’s way older and has no business with such a beautiful, smart woman who is 30 years younger than him,”
“I’m just gonna,” Jess spoke up, excusing herself from the room.
“And why does he think that?” you questioned.
“Come on, (Y/N) look at me,” Parker said, leaning forward to grab your hand.
“I do,” you said, laughing a little nervously “Probably more than I should,” you added, feeling somewhat embarrassed at your own boldness.
“All this time, I thought you hated me,” he said quietly, staring at their conjoined hands.
You sighed, “At first, I did. I mean, I did just leave my dad, the only family I had left and someone I didn’t know took his spot,” you explained.
“What changed?” he asked quietly.
You shrugged and said, “I don’t know how it happened, but one day I suddenly found you attractive,” feeling embarrassed, you turned your gaze away from him.
“Well that I believe,” he smirked.
“How did you get your head through the door?” He laughed, god you loved that laugh and you wanted to hear it for the rest of your life, “So, you were suddenly attracted to me? Whilst I was dying on the floor?”
“No, uhm long before that,” he replied shaking his head.
“What like a month? 2?”
“7” he replied. 7 months? That was before he joined NCIS, he was still FBI. As if he knew what you were thinking he replied, “Yeah, remember when you punched me in the face?”
“Yeah,” you nodded slowly unsure of what this had to do with anything.
“Then,”
Your eyes widened in surprise, followed by a burst of laughter as you tried to process his words. “You were attracted to me punching you in the face?” you asked in disbelief.
“It was a hell of a punch, and you looked great doing it,” he replied, you laughed, shaking your head at his compliment. He smiled and kissed the back of your hand.
Vance came in at some point, asking to speak to Parker, he let go of your hand and headed out the door, not before throwing you a wink that made your whole body tingle with excitement. Oh crap. you thought.
How the hell were you going to keep your hands off him at work?!
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Man, how many times has this Jason guy been shot? I'm not complaining but damnnnn those bullets are attracted to him like a moth to a flame
Anon!
Oh oh, see I adore these kinds of questions cause then I gotta do some research.. off top of my head around 19? But I have a list of injuries from shot/stabbed/poisoned/fallen and declared dead!..
So here's the list of Jason morgan whump from just general hospital (I'm not adding the others things Steve burton has done we'd be here all day!)
So let's see ...
Suffered permanent brain damage following an accident when his brother, A.J., was driving drunk [Dec 1995]
1997 shot in the stomach by the Tin man whilst dancing with Robin.
Shot by Moreno's men when their mob meeting went wrong [Nov 30, 1999] (oh this was a good one!)
Injured in a car accident with Courtney while headed to tell Sonny about their relationship [Feb 5, 2003] (lung punctured here)
Shot by an FBI agent [Feb 8, 2005] (fevered and collapsed in this one)
Began suffering severe headaches after taking an experimental drug [2005] (train crash episode almost drowned was a good one)
Began suffering extreme seizures as a side effect of the drug and required surgery [2005]
Shot while attempting to rescue Samantha McCall from Manny Ruiz [Jul 4, 2006]
Shot by police [Nov 17, 2006]
Injured his hands while rescuing Elizabeth from Diego Alcazar [Mar 2008]
Suffered a bout of Asian flu [Jun 2008]
Suffered a bullet graze to his arm [Jan 2009]
Shot in the shoulder by Sam McCall during the hospital biotoxin crisis [Feb 2009]
Developed an infection after Jerry Jacks shot him and trapped Jason underneath the rubble of an abandoned church [Aug 2009] (he was shot twice here)
Suffered a head injury after a car accident [Aug 2011]
Underwent brain surgery to remove a piece of dashboard from his 1995 car accident with A.J. [Aug 2011]
Drugged and trapped in a room by Franco and forced to watch Franco sexually assault Sam [Nov 2011]
Knocked unconscious after running into Michael while on his motorcycle [Dec 2011]
Passed out in the hospital corridor [Jan 2012]
Diagnosed with brain swelling [Jan 2012]
Underwent surgery to relieve swelling in his brain [Feb 2012]
Experienced a fever after being exposed to the toxin Jerry Jacks had placed in the water supply [Sep 2012]
Shot in the leg by Dr. Ewen Keenan while rescuing Elizabeth Webber from Dr. Keenan [Sep 2012]
Shot in the back by Cesar Faison (disguised as Duke Lavery) [Oct 19, 2012]
Came back in 2017 being held by raisins son Peter
2018ish fell down a mine shaft ended up with hyperthermia almost drowned
Shot saving britt needed surgery on the kitchen table! [2021]
2022 died (who knows) in a cave in rescuing his brother.
Phew think that's it 🤔 ha you gotta love Jason Morgan that guy gets whumped more times than a chicken lays an egg 🥚🤣
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