Calcareous phytoplankton. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Discosphaera tubifera. This small algal organism (coccolithophore) is surrounded by a skeleton (coccosphere) of trumpet-shaped calcium carbonate plates (coccoliths). When the organism dies,the plates separate and sink to the ocean floor. Individual plates have been found in vast numbers and can make up the major component of a particular rock,such as the chalk of England. Specimen from the Alboran Sea,western Mediterranean | |
Lizenzart: | Lizenzpflichtig |
Credit: | Science Photo Library / Natural History Museum, London |
Bildgröße: | 3343 px × 2651 px |
Modell-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
Restrictions: | - |