A satellite image of a phytoplankton bloom stretching across the Barents Sea off the coast of mainland Europe’s most northern point, Cape Nordkinn. Free-floating phytoplankton highlight the whirls of ocean currents in spectacular shades of blue and green. These microscopic marine organisms that drift on or near the surface of oceans and seas have been called ‘the grass of the sea’ because they are the foundation of the oceanic food chain. Phytoplankton are able to convert inorganic compounds such as water, nitrogen and carbon into complex organic materials. With their ability to ‘digest’ these compounds, they are credited with removing as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as their plant ‘cousins’ on land - therefore having a profound influence on climate. They are also sensitive to environmental changes, so it is important to monitor and model phytoplankton into calculations of future climate change.