New photos show microscopic plankton in magnificent detail 

New photos offer a fascinating glimpse into the unseen alien-like world of microscopic plankton – the diverse collection of tiny organisms found in water and the air.

Dutch photographer Jan van IJken has published his collection of plankton imagery, taken from puddles, lakes and seas in the Netherlands, as part of a film and photo project called 'Planktonium'.

'Plankton' is a Greek term meaning 'errant' in reference to their existence in a 'drifting state', as they're unable to propel themselves against a current or wind.

This compares with 'Nekton' ('to swim'), actively swimming organisms such as fish, squid, octopus, sharks and marine mammals.

Van IJken's collection includes a wide variety of plankton, from copepods, water fleas, diatoms (single-celled algae), cyanobacteria and more.

'These stunningly beautiful, very diverse and numerous organisms are unknown to most of us because they are invisible to the naked eye,' van IJken's website reads.

'However, they are wandering beneath the surface of all waters around us and they are of vital importance for all life on Earth.'

Plankton play an important role in the production of oxygen, the aquatic food web and the carbon life cycle.

According to the US's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, scientists estimate that 50 per cent to 80 per cent of the oxygen production on Earth comes from the ocean, mostly from oceanic plankton.

There are two main types of plankton – phytoplankton, which are plants, and zooplankton, which are animals. Phytoplankton thrive in warn, sunlit, nutrient-rich upper layers of the ocean and are a food source for fish.

However, Van IJken warns that plankton are threatened by climate change, global warming and acidification of the oceans.

As well as many photos on the website, van IJken has created a short film of the plankton in motion that's scored by Norwegian artist Jana Winderen.

Planktonium has been acquired by Museum De Lakenhal in the Dutch city of Leiden, where the film will be screened from January 22 as a part of Leiden European City of Science 2022.