Article Title: Diatom
22-06-2024
Geography Current Affairs Analysis
1)A new freshwater diatom genus named Indiconema discovered from Eastern and Western Ghats.
About Diatom
They’re unicellular algae belonging to a phytoplankton group.
They’re eukaryotes and non-motile.
Only organisms with cell walls composed of transparent, opaline silica. Thus, the walls are indestructible.
Diatom cell wall deposits accumulate over billions of years
forming diatomaceous earth.
Significance
Chief ‘producers’ in oceans and produced 20-30% of global oxygen.
Excellent indicators of aquatic health.
Remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from atmosphere, convert CO2 to organic carbon in form of sugar, and release oxygen.
Serve as a base of aquatic food chain.
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