Plankton drive the "biological pump", a process by which the oceanecosystem transports carbon from the surface euphotic zone to the ocean's depths. Such processes are vital to carbon dioxide sinks, one of several possibilities for countering global warming. Modern planktology includes behavioral aspects of drifting organisms, engaging modern in situ imaging devices.
There are a very large number of, often closely related or similar looking, plankton species which makes classification a challenge for scientists. Their habitat also adds challenges to their study.[1]
