Although CALIPSO was built to study clouds and airborne particles, it has also provided a new perspective on ocean life, allowing researchers to study diel vertical migration (DVM) at a global scale for the first time. The daily movement through the water column of small marine organisms – from planktonic dinoflagellates and crustaceans to fish and squid – has long been studied from ships, but the view from space has yielded insights that improve understanding of the Earth’s carbon cycle and can be used to calibrate climate models.
About Quest
Popular science magazine aimed at South African youth. Published quarterly.
©2021 Quest – Academy of Science of South Africa
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Contact Quest
Email: quest@assaf.org.za
Tel.: +27(12) 349 6600
Academy of Science of South Africa, 25A De Havilland Crescent, Persequor Park, Meiring Naudé Road, Lynnwood, Pretoria, South Africa