Photo of the Week: Plankton Pause

Biological oceanography PhD student Allison Cusick and a group of travelers pause for a photo after gathering plankton samples and data in an Antarctic fjord earlier this year.

Cusick is conducting the FjordPhyto citizen science project for phytoplankton ecologist Maria Vernet and originally posted this image on the project's Instagram stream. She gave lectures and managed the project this year during trips with Antarctica21 and Cheeseman's Ecology Safaris.

"This project looks at how phytoplankton communities are changing from November to March each year and how glacial meltwater might influence the species we find," Cusick wrote. "These little ocean solar panels fuel the base of the entire food web, feeding the key krill species that all other animals heavily rely on for food. It’s been a great success and huge enjoyment to involve non-scientists in active polar research."

Learn more about Cusick at womanscientist.com and see more of her photos on Instagram.

Related Image Gallery: Photo of the Week 2019