Slow-growing alga are time capsules of ocean climate

scientists study corals
Doug Rasher, left, and Bob Steneck, examine Clathromorphum nereostratum collected in July 2014.

Dr. Bob Steneck and Dr. Doug Rasher are part of an international team of scientists studying growth rings in the long-living, slow-growing alga Clathromorphum nereostratum to unlock the mysteries of the North Pacific ocean environment. Using lasers to measure isotope ratios of boron locked in the calcium carbonate skeletons, the team has reconstructed 120 years of seasonal variations of ocean acidification. 

A paper about the findings was published Feb. 24 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

Read all about it at UMaine News.