Scientist Joe Montoya works with a research ship's winch operator to remove slack from a conducting cable before launching the scientists' ocean sampling equipment, called a CTD-rosette.

Credit: Photo Courtesy of Joe Montoya

Scientist Joe Montoya pulls the slack out of the conducting cable attached to his research's teams ocean sampling equipment called a CTD-rosette, which has just returned to the ship in this photo.

Credit: Photo Courtesy of Joe Montoya

Researchers sampled the ocean water with a CTD-rosette, which consists of an aluminum frame, a sensor system and 24, 10-liter PVC sampling bottles. When deployed the equipment's sensors send back real-time information on the physical and chemical structure of the water via a conducting cable. From the ship, researchers can trigger the sampling bottles to close when they get to depths of particular interest.

Credit: Photo Courtesy of Joe Montoya

In this map of the Pacific Ocean, the deep blue areas are the nutrient-poor and low-fertility central gyres of the major ocean basins. Fewer phytoplankton grow here. The lighter blue areas represent more productive regions with higher rates of nutrient input and consequently higher phytoplankton biomass. The continental shelves and upwelling regions (e.g., along the equator) tend to have higher biomass because of nutrient input.

Credit: Map Courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration