Science11 min read
The Euphotic Zone: Where the Ocean Runs on Light
The euphotic zone is the sunlit skin of the sea where photosynthesis powers nearly all marine life. What defines it, how deep it runs, and why it matters.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
#photosynthesis
6 articles
Science8 min read
Life Under the Canopy: How Kelp Forests Sculpt Light
A kelp canopy is a living skylight — filtering intensity, colour and flicker for everything beneath it. How that sculpted light builds the understorey.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Science7 min read
Why Seaweeds Are Green, Brown or Red: A Pigment Guide
Green, brown or red: seaweed colour is chemistry plus ancestry. A guide to algal pigments, the three seaweed lineages, and what colour says about depth.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Science9 min read
Why Is Kelp Brown? The Pigment Chemistry of Looking Alive
Kelp looks brown, red seaweeds look red, and grass is green — because each lineage solved the sunlight problem differently. Here's the pigment chemistry of the sea.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Science8 min read
How Kelp Photosynthesizes: Fucoxanthin and the Brown Light of the Undersea Forest
Why is kelp brown, not green? The answer is a pigment strategy tuned to underwater light — and it explains how kelp forests become some of Earth's most productive ecosystems.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Science8 min read
Do Kelp Forests Make Oxygen? What Primary Production Really Delivers
Kelp forests photosynthesise hard — but how much oxygen do they actually produce, where does it go, and is the 'lungs of the ocean' slogan honest science?
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·