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This carbon doesn’t just sit there. Some of it goes in the sediment, or gets remineralized.

And much of it feeds the deep sea ecosystem.

Remember, once the carbon is ready to be released, ocean mixing by currents and upwelling will bring it back up to shallower waters.

This entire process, from when carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean and phytoplankton (which then sinks to the deep ocean to be stored), is known as carbon sequestration. This is one of the most valuable services our oceans provide!

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Carbon can be stored in deep waters or seafloor sediments for hundreds of years.

Carbon stored in the deep ocean sediments can only return to the surface after millions of years through tectonic processes such as uplift, volcanism and erosion.

Dissolved carbon nutrients are brought back to the surface ocean by upwelling of deeper waters. And the cycle continues!

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The deeper the carbon ends up, the longer carbon is stored. Carbon that makes it to the bottom can be safely stored for up to 1000 years!

What are scientists wondering about? Scientists are trying to figure out just how much climate change is impacting this reduced rate of marine snow sinking, and how it is impacting the rest of the ocean ecosystem and food web.

Marine snow feeds the biggest ecosystem in the world -- the deep ocean.

Different depths in the water column have been found to store carbon away from the atmosphere for different amounts of time.

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Only 1 to 15% of the original carbon in surface waters sinks below 500 meters.

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... which keeps marine snow from sinking as deeply.

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As the marine snow sinks, microbes and bacteria attach to these organic matter particles and decompose them. Zooplankton and fish eat those particles and reintroduce them to the ocean food web, yet again.

2-25% of the carbon sinks between 100 and 500 meters.

Bacteria are tiny, single-celled organisms that get nutrients from their environments. They play a critical role in breaking down dead plants and animals into their components, such as carbon and nutrients. Bacteria are found throughout the water column, in marine snow, and in sediments.

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And that’s not all. Fewer phytoplankton means less zooplankton... and less zooplankton means less zooplankton fecal matter. This means smaller and less dense marine snow...

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Small pieces of decaying phytoplankton and zooplankton fecal matter bind together to create clumps of organic matter. This organic matter contains carbon and becomes “marine snow” that sinks down the water column.

5-50% of the total carbon reaches 100 meters.

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In addition, when the surface water is warmed by climate change, mixing is reduced, and less nutrients rise to the surface. This is because of increased stratification.

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Fewer nutrients at the surface means less food for phytoplankton. Less food means fewer and smaller phytoplankton. This impacts the entire ocean's food web and ecosystem.

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Zooplankton depend on phytoplankton as a nutritious food source that provides them with carbon and energy.

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Zooplankton are small drifting animals living in the ocean. They make up an important part of the food web. They are food for animals like sponges, coral, small fish and even large whales!

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Phytoplankton gobble up some of the world’s carbon emissions and release about 50% of the world’s oxygen! If ocean warming is causing the decrease of phytoplankton, how do you think this will affect global carbon uptake?

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More acidic water makes life harder for phytoplankton and zooplankton that make a carbonate shell or skeleton (corals, shellfish, foraminifera, and many others).

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Phytoplankton are microscopic marine algae. They function like tiny plants floating in the ocean, and play an important role in the BCP.

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Phytoplankton form the base of aquatic food webs. They are responsible for bringing carbon into the ocean. Just like plants, they use sunlight, nutrients, and CO₂, and release oxygen.

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And where the ocean is absorbing more carbon it’s also becoming more acidic.

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How much the ocean absorbs depends on two things: the difference in the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere (compared to the ocean) and the temperature.

Cold water tends to be better at absorbing carbon than warm water. So in colder regions, the ocean is absorbing more carbon than normal.

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The ocean is normally in a state of equilibrium. CO₂ is released and absorbed by the ocean at a similar rate on average.

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Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a byproduct of most life forms. It comes from breathing out, decomposition, volcanism, and burning of organic matter.

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CARBON PUMP

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The Biological Carbon Pump (BCP) contributes to the ocean's role in taking up and storing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere. Without the BCP the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere would be much higher. Journey to the bottom of the ocean to learn how the BCP works!

The Biological Carbon Pump (BCP) contributes to the ocean's role in taking up and storing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere. Without the BCP the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere would be much higher. Journey to the bottom of the ocean to learn how the BCP works!

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DEPTH

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SEDIMENTS

MARINE SNOW

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Switch ON the CLIMATE CHANGE toggle to learn how climate change affects the BCP!

CLIMATE CHANGE

As carbon emissions increase, so does Earth’s greenhouse effect (when the sun’s warmth becomes trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere). The ocean helps to reduce the intensity of this global warming by absorbing CO₂. It has absorbed about 25% of our total CO₂ emissions so far.

But this means it is absorbing more CO₂ than it’s returning to the atmosphere.

The ocean can only take up so much CO₂ and remain healthy.

Concerned scientists are currently trying to figure out the effects of this extra CO₂ absorption and how it might impact the carbon cycle.

How is climate change affecting the biological carbon pump?

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The Biological Carbon Pump (BCP) contributes to the ocean's role in taking up and storing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere. Without the BCP the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere would be much higher. Journey to the bottom of the ocean to learn how the BCP works!

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GIANT AMPHIPOD, 20–300 mm

GIANT LARVACEAN, up to 1 metre
DIET: Marine snow

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The health of the biological carbon pump is inextricably linked to the health of our blue planet. We must do everything in our power to safeguard it for generations to come.

Scientists are deeply concerned about how these changes will affect the ocean's ability to continue absorbing and sequestering carbon dioxide. If the biological carbon pump becomes less efficient, it could lead to even faster global warming, with catastrophic consequences for life on our planet.

We now know that the BCP is no longer in a state of equilibrium. The amount of CO₂ absorbed is greater than the amount being released.

THE BIOLOGICAL CARBON PUMP and CLIMATE CHANGE