The ocean carbon cycle describes how carbon continually travels from the atmosphere and land into our seas and vice versa. The ocean absorbs a significant amount of the carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere. This drawdown of CO2 is accomplished through the movement of carbon along chemical and biological pathways.
Like plants on land, phytoplankton draw CO2 out of the atmosphere during photosynthesis and turn it into organic matter. This carbon then moves through the marine food web as other organisms eat the phytoplankton and are then themselves eaten. Ultimately, some of this carbon even makes its way from the ocean surface to the seafloor as animals migrate through the water column and dead organisms sink to the bottom. In some cases, this can effectively remove CO2 from contact with the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years.
Our ocean’s role as a carbon sink may not be beneficial to ocean life, however. The increase in CO2 absorbed by the ocean leads to ocean acidification, which can harm marine organisms, particularly those that rely on calcium carbonate to build shells and skeletons, like coral. The ocean’s role as a carbon sink could also change. The chemical processes in seawater to dissolve CO2 are affected by temperature – a warmer ocean will be a less effective at drawing down carbon.
The ocean carbon cycle describes how carbon continually travels from the atmosphere and land into our seas and vice versa. The ocean absorbs a significant amount of the carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere. This drawdown of CO2 is accomplished through the movement of carbon along chemical and biological pathways.
Like plants on land, phytoplankton draw CO2 out of the atmosphere during photosynthesis and turn it into organic matter. This carbon then moves through the marine food web as other organisms eat the phytoplankton and are then themselves eaten. Ultimately, some of this carbon even makes its way from the ocean surface to the seafloor as animals migrate through the water column and dead organisms sink to the bottom. In some cases, this can effectively remove CO2 from contact with the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years.
Our ocean’s role as a carbon sink may not be beneficial to ocean life, however. The increase in CO2 absorbed by the ocean leads to ocean acidification, which can harm marine organisms, particularly those that rely on calcium carbonate to build shells and skeletons, like coral. The ocean’s role as a carbon sink could also change. The chemical processes in seawater to dissolve CO2 are affected by temperature – a warmer ocean will be a less effective at drawing down carbon.
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