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This study shows a ubiquitous type of phytoplankton appears to be suffering from the effects of ocean acidification caused by climate change. The single-celled organism under study is a type of "calcifying" plankton called a coccolithophore, which makes energy from sunlight and builds microscopic calcium carbonate shells, or plates, to produce a chalky suit of armor. The researchers used satellites tuned to observe the amount of calcium carbonate present in the surface of the Southern Ocean produced by Emiliania huxleyi, one of the most common species of coccolithophores in the region. [Source: University of Colorado Boulder]
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