Here is the story of two microscopic creatures, caught between life and death, who together bring life to an entire ocean.
That’s the opening of the video abstract that I recently put together with Dr. Laurence Yeung and Nic Perez for the Ocean180 Video Challenge – an outstanding new contest for ocean scientists to bring their academic work to a middle school audience. The basis of the video is Laurence’s 2012 paper, Impact of diatom-diazotroph associations on carbon export in the Amazon River plume (.pdf here), which takes a look at a pair of microorganisms that help each other get what they need to survive. By working together, they turn a barren part of the Atlantic ocean into a buffet. I had a great time animating to Nic’s epic voiceover, and I learned a ton about an entirely new field – plus, we took 2nd place in the contest! Definitely an all-around win for everyone.