Ocean surface ecosystem

The community of organisms and ecological processes at the ocean–atmosphere boundary. It includes life in the sunlit surface water and the thin sea-surface microlayer.

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Sea-surface microlayer: The uppermost layer of ocean water, where seawater meets the atmosphere and physical and chemical properties differ from underlying water. This thin boundary layer concentrates organic matter and hosts distinctive microbial communities.
Phytoplankton: Microscopic photosynthetic organisms that drift in aquatic environments and form the base of many marine food webs. These primary producers convert surface sunlight and dissolved nutrients into biomass.
Ocean color remote sensing: Satellite measurement of ocean light reflectance used to estimate properties such as chlorophyll concentration. Ocean color reveals broad patterns in surface phytoplankton biomass and blooms.
Marine food web: A network of feeding relationships among organisms in a marine ecosystem. Surface production feeds consumers and connects the ocean boundary to deeper trophic levels.
Prochlorococcus: A genus of tiny marine cyanobacteria that is among the most abundant photosynthetic organisms on Earth. Its abundance makes its physiology and nutrient use central to estimates of ocean surface production.
Marine photosynthesis: The conversion of light energy into chemical energy by marine organisms, chiefly phytoplankton in sunlit waters. Phytoplankton use surface light to fix carbon and supply much of the ecosystem’s primary production.
Cyanobacteria: A diverse group of photosynthetic bacteria found in aquatic and terrestrial environments. Marine cyanobacteria include abundant surface-water producers such as Prochlorococcus.
Biological carbon pump: The set of biological processes that transfer carbon from surface waters into the ocean interior. Surface production and particle sinking help determine how much carbon leaves the atmosphere-facing ocean.
Dimethyl sulfide: A volatile sulfur compound produced by marine organisms, especially through breakdown of dimethylsulfoniopropionate. Its release from surface waters links plankton activity to atmospheric sulfur chemistry.
Marine viral ecology: The study of viruses and their interactions with organisms in marine environments. Viral infection can reshape microbial populations and redirect carbon and nutrients.