DLESE description of Ocean Currents: Sinking Nutrients

This two-minute sound segment discusses the nutrients produced by phytoplankton, one-celled plants which live on the surface of the ocean and which form the basis of what scientists call biological productivity. A professor explains that the organic matter that comes sinking out of the surface actually sinks very far down into the water column before bacteria are actually able to break it back down into dissolved nutrients and it is difficult for the water that those nutrients are in to come back up to the surface. This site is from an archive of a daily radio program called Pulse of the Planet, which provides its listeners with a portrait of Planet Earth, tracking the rhythms of nature, culture and science worldwide and blending interviews and extraordinary natural sound. The site also provides a written transcript of the broadcast.