GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Prochlorococcus and other ocean phytoplankton are responsible for 70 percent of Earth’s oxygen production.

Detailed explanation-2: -Scientists estimate that roughly half of the oxygen production on Earth comes from the ocean. The majority of this production is from oceanic plankton-drifting plants, algae, and some bacteria that can photosynthesize. One particular species, Prochlorococcus, is the smallest photosynthetic organism on Earth.

Detailed explanation-3: -Like plants and trees on land, phytoplankton give us a lot more than food. Scientists estimate that at least 50 percent of the oxygen in our atmosphere has been produced by phytoplankton. At the same time, they are responsible for drawing down significant portions of the carbon dioxide from the air.

Detailed explanation-4: -In the Northeast U.S. continental shelf ecosystem, microscopic single-celled algae known as phytoplankton are responsible for nearly all primary production. Globally, primary producers generate almost half of Earth’s oxygen and are the base of most marine food webs.

Detailed explanation-5: -Plankton that are plants, known as phytoplankton, grow and get their own energy through photosynthesis and are responsible for producing an estimated 80% of the world’s oxygen.