{"id":1380,"date":"2026-03-02T21:13:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/?p=1380"},"modified":"2026-03-02T21:13:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:13:16","slug":"antarctic-dispatch-5-micromonday-antarctic-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/?p=1380","title":{"rendered":"Antarctic Dispatch 5:\u00a0#MicroMonday, Antarctic Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\">\n#foogallery-gallery-1383 .fg-image { width: 2000px; }<\/style>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"foogallery foogallery-container foogallery-carousel foogallery-lightbox-foogallery fg-carousel fg-ready fg-light fg-border-medium fg-round-small fg-shadow-medium fg-loading-default fg-loaded-fade-in fg-hover-semi-zoomed fg-hover-fade fg-hover-circle-plus2\" id=\"foogallery-gallery-1383\" data-foogallery=\"{&quot;item&quot;:{&quot;showCaptionTitle&quot;:true,&quot;showCaptionDescription&quot;:true},&quot;lazy&quot;:true,&quot;template&quot;:{&quot;maxItems&quot;:5,&quot;scale&quot;:0.12,&quot;gutter&quot;:{&quot;min&quot;:-40,&quot;max&quot;:-20,&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;%&quot;},&quot;autoplay&quot;:{&quot;time&quot;:3,&quot;interaction&quot;:&quot;pause&quot;},&quot;centerOnClick&quot;:true}}\" data-foogallery-lightbox=\"{&quot;thumbs&quot;:&quot;bottom&quot;,&quot;thumbsCaptions&quot;:false,&quot;thumbsBestFit&quot;:false,&quot;thumbsSmall&quot;:false,&quot;thumbsCaptionsAlign&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;info&quot;:&quot;bottom&quot;,&quot;infoVisible&quot;:true,&quot;infoOverlay&quot;:true,&quot;infoAlign&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;transition&quot;:&quot;fade&quot;,&quot;hoverButtons&quot;:false,&quot;fitMedia&quot;:false,&quot;noScrollbars&quot;:true,&quot;preserveButtonSpace&quot;:true,&quot;buttons&quot;:{&quot;fullscreen&quot;:true,&quot;info&quot;:true,&quot;thumbs&quot;:false},&quot;video&quot;:{&quot;autoPlay&quot;:true}}\" style=\"--fg-title-line-clamp: 1; --fg-description-line-clamp: 2;\" >\n\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"fg-carousel-prev\" title=\"Previous\"><\/button>\n\t<div class=\"fg-carousel-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"fg-carousel-center\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-idle\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/626103563_18556044076022468_811694403988938463_n.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"1384\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" data-src-fg=\"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/626103563_18556044076022468_811694403988938463_n.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%222000%22%20height%3D%222000%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202000%202000%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" loading=\"eager\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-idle\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/626302000_18556044085022468_301097991327465870_n.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"1385\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" data-src-fg=\"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/626302000_18556044085022468_301097991327465870_n.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%222000%22%20height%3D%222000%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202000%202000%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" loading=\"eager\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-idle\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/627742454_18556044058022468_2296423157770761453_n.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"1386\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" data-src-fg=\"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/627742454_18556044058022468_2296423157770761453_n.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%222000%22%20height%3D%222000%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202000%202000%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" loading=\"eager\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-idle\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/629752254_18556044067022468_7686711573938787047_n.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"1387\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" data-src-fg=\"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/629752254_18556044067022468_7686711573938787047_n.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%222000%22%20height%3D%222000%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202000%202000%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" loading=\"eager\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div>\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"fg-carousel-bottom\"><\/div>\n\t<div class=\"fg-carousel-progress\"><\/div>\n\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"fg-carousel-next\" title=\"Next\"><\/button>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>For the past several weeks, Bigelow Laboratory Senior Research Scientist&nbsp;<strong>Ben Twining<\/strong>&nbsp;has participated in the&nbsp;<strong>IRON-MAN<\/strong>&nbsp;expedition in and around the southernmost continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ANTARCTIC DISPATCH 5: #MICROMONDAY, ANTARTIC EDITION<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you were somehow under the impression that phytoplankton are dainty, unassuming plant-like organisms \u2014 microscopic geraniums and ferns floating merrily on ocean currents \u2014 think again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enter <em>Corethron<\/em>, a type of diatom found in abundance in Antarctic waters. These phytoplankton are just a fraction of a millimeter long, and like all diatoms, they have a silica shell called a frustule. But <em>Corethron<\/em> also has some gnarly built-in defenses: long spines, which make them hard for grazers to eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Senior Research Scientist <strong>Ben Twining<\/strong> spotted these tough-looking phytoplankton during the <strong>IRON-MAN<\/strong> expedition, which is focused on how the growth of phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean might be limited by iron and manganese availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A phytoplankton that bears an uncanny resemblance to a bristling porcupine? <strong>We\u2019re cool with that.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udcf8: <em>Ben Twining, Chandni Bhickta.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the past several weeks, Bigelow Laboratory Senior Research Scientist&nbsp;Ben Twining&nbsp;has participated in the&nbsp;IRON-MAN&nbsp;expedition in and around the southernmost continent. ANTARCTIC DISPATCH 5: #MICROMONDAY, ANTARTIC EDITION If you were somehow under the impression that phytoplankton are dainty, unassuming plant-like organisms \u2014 microscopic geraniums and ferns floating merrily on ocean currents \u2014 think again. Enter Corethron, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","css_class_manager_body_classes":"","css_class_manager_use_in_post_loop":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[101,50,34,35],"class_list":["post-1380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science-ocean-function","tag-antarctic-dispatches","tag-ben-twining","tag-microscopy","tag-phytoplankton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1380"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1388,"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1380\/revisions\/1388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}