Phytoplankton Population Drops 40 Percent Since 1950 (2010)

Are we doomed? It seems like we might be doomed

[2010], here's the paper referenced in the article: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09268

I knew we had fucked up the oceans with plastics and overfishing, but I didn't know that phytoplankton was down as well, at such a scale. Per TFA, it provided 50% of the Earth's photosynthesis (in 2010). If it kept on dwindling that fast, that share is even lower now (down ~45%, with a half-life of 81 years, assuming the decline was constant between 1950 and 2010). This is also freaky knowing that it is the base of the food chain in the oceans...

I don't have any idea of the amount of oxygen that's cycled each year vs the total amount in the atmosphere... I suppose there's no immediate danger on that end, even if it were to drop to an even lower point before recovering, otherwise we'd have heard of this more often...

I am not associated with any of the following, but there are organizations attempting to build devices that will bring colder, nutrient rich waters to the surface to cause phytoplankton blooms (or use the same nutrients for seaweed farming):

1) ocean-based.com 2) http://www.climatefoundation.org/

We should of course do everything we can to stop emitting carbon. But projects like these may an important part in our future.

I'd guess like any environment if the species population (humans) exceeds the carrying capacity of the land (earth) then there will be a die back.

No, we’ve been on the brink of annihilation many times and have found a way through. We cannot predict what new knowledge will be discovered to solve these problems. But we must keep trying.