Emiliania Huxleyi

Emiliania huxleyi, also increasingly classified under the name Gephyrocapsa huxleyi, is the most abundant coccolithophore species in modern oceans, thriving in nearly all marine ecosystems from equatorial to sub-polar regions. This single-celled phytoplankton is covered with uniquely decorated calcite disks called coccoliths, which it uses to build its outer covering. It forms the foundation of marine food webs and is noted for creating extensive blooms in nutrient-depleted waters visible from space. Its coccoliths and a resistant class of chemical compounds it produces, called alkenones, are preserved in marine sediments, making the organism valuable to scientists for estimating past sea surface temperatures.