860-287450 - Tara Oceans Expeditions - May 2011. Tara with deployed plancton nets. On "station", the boat is drifting without engine or sails. Tara Oceans, a unique expedition: Tara Oceans is the very first attempt to make a global study of marine plankton, a form of sea life that includes organisms as small as viruses and bacterias, and as big as medusas. Our goal is to better understand planktonic ecosystems by exploring the countless species, learning about interactions among them and with their environment. Marine plankton is the only ecosystem that is almost continuous over the surface of the Earth. Studying plankton is like taking the pulse of our planet. Recently, scientists have discovered the great importance of plankton for the climate: populations of plankton are affected very rapidly by variations in climate. But in turn they can influence the climate by modifying the absorption of carbon. In a context of rapid physico-chemical changes, for example the acidification observed today in the world's oceans, it is urgent to understand and predict the evolution of these particular ecosystems. Finally, plankton is an astonishing way of going back in time ? a prime source of fossils. Over the eons, plankton has created several hundred meters of sediment on the ocean floors. This allows us to go back in time, to the first oceans on Earth, and better understand the history of our biosphere. More than 12 fields of research are involved in the project, which will bring together an international team of oceanographers, ecologists, biologists, geneticists, and physicists from prestigious laboratories headed by Eric Karsenti of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. Galapagos
1112-4206 - Adult killer whales (Orcinus orca) near research boat in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, California, United States of America, North America
990-135 - The Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) named Tic-Tac-Toe leaps out of the water right beside the research boat taking a close look at the photographer. St. Lawrence estuary, Canada
988-165 - Research boat. "Silurian" is the research boat of the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, based in Tobermory, Isle of Mull. Hebrides, Scotland
1036-210 - Aerial shot of the research yacht, The Song of the Whale, being investigated by a Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), while one of the crew tries to get a closer look fro
1034-19 - orca/ killer whale (Orcinus orca) 'Luna' (L98), 5-year old lone male interacting with people's feet in Nootka Sound, West Vancouver Island, Canada, North Pacific.
1034-21 - orca/ killer whale (Orcinus orca) 'Luna' (L98), 5-year old lone male interacting with Ed Thornburn in Nootka Sound, West Vancouver Island, Canada, North Pacific.
1034-18 - orca/ killer whale (Orcinus orca) 'Luna' (L98), 5-year old lone male interacting with Ingrid Visser (photo by T. Hardie) in Nootka Sound, West Vancouver Island, Canada, North Pacific.
979-4015 - Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour doing various things in and around the Antarctic Peninsula
979-2328 - The commercial whale watching vessel "Orca Odyssey", based in Juneau, Southeast Alaska, USA. In the summer of 2006 this vessel struck a humpback whale while on a commercial whale watch.
979-4017 - Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour doing various things in and around the Antarctic Peninsula
979-2040 - Turtle researchers from the NGO Pro Caguama study and capture the critically endangered Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) from the town of Puerto Lopez Mateos
979-4027 - Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour in LeMaire Channel on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula
979-2406 - Lindblad Expeditions guests visiting the Argentine research station Almirante Brown in Paradise Bay in Antarctica as part of expedition travel. NO MODEL RELEASES FOR THIS IMAGE.
979-4013 - Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour doing various things in and around the Antarctic Peninsula
979-2344 - The National Geographic Endeavour breaking through new fast ice around the Antarctic Peninsula. Note the orange hull paint left on the ice where the bow has pushed through.
979-4026 - Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour in LeMaire Channel on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula
979-3246 - Adult reddish egret (Egretta rufescens) hunting for small fish in the shallow waters of Puerto Don Juan in the upper Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), Baja California Norte, Mexcio.
979-2340 - The National Geographic Endeavour breaking through ice floes in the Weddell Sea around the Antarctic Peninsula. Guests are on the bow watching the process.
979-4028 - Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour in LeMaire Channel on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula
979-4029 - Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour doing various things in and around the Antarctic Peninsula
979-2341 - The National Geographic Endeavour breaking through fast ice in the Weddell Sea around the Antarctic Peninsula. Guests are on the bow watching the process.
979-4014 - Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour doing various things in and around the Antarctic Peninsula
979-4025 - Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour in LeMaire Channel on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula
979-3244 - Adult reddish egret (Egretta rufescens) hunting for small fish in the shallow waters of Puerto Don Juan in the upper Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), Baja California Norte, Mexcio
979-2044 - Young California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) hauled out on a Zodiac surrounded by snorkelers in the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), Mexico.
920-1518 - Scientists and graduate student collecting hammerhead shark pups for research, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, Oahu, Hawaii, United States of America, Pacific