NASA and university researchers are announcing a major breakthrough using satellites to understand the health of our oceans.

WHAT: Media Teleconference

WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 10 from 1 to 2 p.m. EST. Reporters may dial in toll free at: 877-960-9069. The passcode is PLANKTON.

WHO: Michael Behrenfeld, a former researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. He will explain his new satellite technique and its importance. Behrenfeld is a researcher at Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore.

He will explain this new technique, which opens the door to solving a problem that has stymied ocean biologists for more than a century. The technique uses satellite data to understand the health of our oceans through studying information about tiny marine plants called phytoplankton. Phytoplankton has a key role in fisheries, harmful algal blooms, and carbon dioxide uptake by oceans.

'"/>

Contact: Gretchen Cook-Anderson
202-358-0836
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
10-Feb-2005