The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
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Smoke and ash from the Australian 2019-2020 bushfires triggered phytoplankton blooms in the Pacific Southern Ocean, thousands of kilometres away. Phytoplankton are known to help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as these tiny organisms consume carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. These extensive phytoplankton blooms are said to have covered an area approximately the size of the Sahara Desert, more than 9.4 million sq km.
This graph shows the chlorophyll-a concentration from 1997 to 2020 in the Pacific Southern Ocean, based on data from ESA’s Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative.
Read full story: Carbon dioxide released from Australian bushfires triggers algal blooms