Phytoplankton Trapping CO2 in Open Antarctic Waters
11.11.2009 - Atmosphere & Space, Water & Oceans, Ice & Snow, Flora & Fauna, Human Dimension, Other, Antarctic
According to a study conducted by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists and published in Global Change Biology, phytoplankton are starting to flourish in new areas of open water and are trapping an estimated 3.5 million tons of carbon (or 12.8 million tones of CO2 equivalent) each year. While this is a small amount of carbon compared to the amount of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, it is nonetheless an important finding according to lead author of the study, Prof. Lloyd Peck.
The plankton's colonization of newly created pools of open water from melting ice shelves and glaciers around the Antarctic Peninsula is having a beneficial impact in countering climate change. At the end of its life, sinks to the seabed, taking carbon with it and storing it for thousands or even millions of years.
In comparing coastal glacial retreat levels with chlorophyll levels in the ocean over the past 50 years, the research team came to the conclusion that the 24,000 km2 of newly open water has been colonized by the phytoplankton, making it the second largest natural factor fighting against climate change discovered so far on Earth, with forest growth on land in the Arctic the first.
According to Prof. Peck, this important discovery shows nature's ability to counteract climate changes to some extent, a parameter scientists will now have to take into account in further calculations and models for future climate change predictions. However, it is important to keep in mind this phenomenon remains restricted to the Antarctic Peninsula and human activity continues to tax the ability of oceans and marine ecosystems elsewhere to capture and store carbon.
