From the article: > The discovery suggests that plankton faces complete wipe-out sooner than was expected. > Every year, 18 million tons of heavy oil fuel is

From the article: > The discovery suggests that plankton faces complete wipe-out sooner than was expected. > Every year, 18 million tons of heavy oil fuel is spilt into the seas by the shipping industry and breaks up into tiny particles that are toxic to plankton. > Citing previous studies, Goes researchers had been expecting to discover 20 such microscopic specks per litre of Atlantic water – but actually counted between 100 and 1,000. > They expected to find up to five visible pieces of plankton in every 10 litres of water – but found an average of less than one. From NASA [1]: > Phytoplankton are responsible for most of the transfer of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to the ocean. Carbon dioxide is consumed during photosynthesis, and the carbon is incorporated in the phytoplankton, just as carbon is stored in the wood and leaves of a tree. Most of the carbon is returned to near-surface waters when phytoplankton are eaten or decompose, but some falls into the ocean depths. [1]: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Phytoplankton https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Phytoplankton