Eric Collins used the first 20 minutes or so to discuss the oceanography associated with the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic regions. The Atlantic salinity is more highly concentrated than that of the Pacific Ocean and it becomes more dilute as it moves across the Baltic Sea. He states that different salinity concentrations correlate to different micro biomes. He was also talking about how 30 to 50 million years ago the Arctic was basically a fresh water pond. Under early spring ice, phytoplankton have been known to move in large groups across the Arctic.
He also discusses how certain microbes that are found in older sea ice may potentially go extinct over the next hundred or so years in response to glacial melt off. He was also talking about sediment deposits and microbe abundance in certain locations such as the Chukchee Sea.
I found the first 20 minutes to be rather dull talking about the depth and width of the oceans. However, in the end he was able to relate the background information with the remainder of his research on arctic microbes. What I found interesting in the beginning portion of the presentation was the fact that salinity is higher in the Atlantic and it becomes less concentrated as it moves across the arctic and pacific ocean regions. Microbial diversity is always intriguing because its so easy to underestimate their abundance and diversity.
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