Phenomer

About the app

Do you notice that the surface of the sea water has an unusual color (red, brown, green, etc.)? This may be due to a proliferation of marine microalgae (also called phytoplankton blooms). Abundant foam or mortalities of marine animals can also be a sign.

This application allows you to report your observation. Thus, you quickly transmit to a team of scientists one or more photos of the phenomenon and its geographical positioning. The application also guides you to take a sample of this colored sea water (essential for scientists to identify the microalgae present).

After validation, your observation will be displayed on the application map as well as on the map of the Phenomer website (www.phenomer.org).

-- The Phenomer program --

Led by Ifremer and its partners, Phenomer is a participatory science program. Its objective is to better understand the proliferations (blooms) of marine microalgae responsible for colored water phenomena: which species of marine microalgae are present in colored water? What environmental conditions favor their proliferation? How does their biodiversity change over time?

All seas around the world are affected by blooms. Unpredictable and short-lived, these phenomena are difficult to study and still poorly understood. They can reflect imbalances within ocean ecosystems. Citizen participation significantly increases the chances of detecting them.

-- When the sea blooms! --

A phytoplankton bloom (or bloom) corresponds to a rapid, massive but fleeting proliferation of microalgae. Certain physical, meteorological, hydrological and environmental conditions favor their multiplication and concentration (for example, a prolonged period of high air and water temperatures with an absence of water agitation).

Marine microalgae are microscopic algae present in all oceans and essential to life on Earth. They play an essential ecological and economic role in coastal ecosystems. Located at the base of the oceanic food chain, they constitute the diet of many herbivores and filter feeders (such as shellfish), which in turn are consumed by carnivores (secondary consumers). This gives them a strong economic impact (shellfish farming, fisheries). In addition, microalgae represent the lungs of our planet. Thanks to their photosynthetic activity, they produce more than half of the atmospheric oxygen.