Plankton in Marine Carbon Storage

Essentially, researchers at Florida State University were given funding to help them better understand the ocean's carbon storage, the organisms that are involved, and what may be preventing its productivity. What they are trying to understand is the biological carbon pump, which is basically a process that take photosynthetic algae and turns it into carbon dioxide. The organisms (zooplankton) within this process create fecal matter that is packed full of carbon, which sinks down into the ocean. The research seems to have helped them more in understanding the actual organisms themselves rather than the carbon pump and storage systems.

I thought this article was interesting because it pertained closely to what we have learned in the first unit: the carbon cycle. I also think that I'll be saying this all year, but it's amazing to see just how things you don't think about in nature that happen all the time, even when you're not specifically thinking about them. I think that this article is important because there is honestly so much we still don't know about the ocean; we're learning new things about it everyday. I believe that every little bit of information counts, like adding another uncovered piece of a, what seems like, never-ending puzzle.

link for article - click here

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 20, 2019 at 7:12 AM

    After the zooplankton release their carbon laden fecal matter and it sinks to the bottom of the ocean, what happens to it then?

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 21, 2019 at 5:56 AM

    I think this is very important because we are learning more and more about our oceans since we only know about 5 percent. It is important that we learn how carbon works in the oceans and how it affects animals, fish and plants.

    ReplyDelete

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