[Did you know...?] More than 50% of the oxygen we breathe comes from the oceans, mainly through phytoplankton?

[FHISKER]

Scientists estimate that roughly half of the oxygen production on Earth comes from the ocean. The majority of this production is from oceanic plankton — drifting plants, algae, and some bacteria that can photosynthesize. One particular species, Prochlorococcus, is the smallest photosynthetic organism on Earth. But this little bacteria produces up to 20% of the oxygen in our entire biosphere. That’s a higher percentage than all of the tropical rainforests on land combined.

Calculating the exact percentage of oxygen produced in the ocean is difficult because the amounts are constantly changing. Scientists can use satellite imagery to track photosynthesizing plankton and estimate the amount of photosynthesis occurring in the ocean, but satellite imagery cannot tell the whole story. The amount of plankton changes seasonally and in response to changes in the water’s nutrient load, temperature, and other factors. Studies have shown that the amount of oxygen in specific locations varies with time of day and with the tides.

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