Pinnularia alpina diatoms, Loch na Cuile Scotland, darkfield photomicrograph. Diatoms are a type of plankton called phytoplankton.

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Diatoms are used to monitor past and present environmental conditions, and are commonly used in studies of water quality. Diatomaceous earth (diatomite) is a collection of diatom shells found in the earth's crust. They are soft, silica-containing sedimentary rocks which are easily crumbled into a fine powder and typically have a particle size of 10 to 200 μm. Diatomaceous earth is used for a variety of purposes including for water filtration, as a mild abrasive, in cat litter, and as a dynamite stabilizer.

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Photo credit: © Scenics & Science / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: alagae, alpina, called, cuile, darkfield, diatoms, environmental, indicator, loch, micrograph, microscope, na, photomicrograph., phytoplankton, phytoplankton., pinnularia, plankton, scotland, type