Ocean food web is key in the global carbon cycle

Nothing dies of old age in the ocean. Everything gets eaten and all that remains of anything is waste. But that waste is pure gold to oceanographer David Siegel, director of the Earth Research Institute at UC Santa Barbara.

A glimpse into the ocean's biological carbon pump

Oceans play a key role in the global carbon dioxide balance. This is because billions of tiny algae live there, absorbing carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and incorporating it into their biomass. When these algae die, ...

New view of how ocean 'pumps' impact climate change

Earth's oceans have a remarkable natural ability to pull carbon from the atmosphere and store it deep within the ocean waters, exerting an important control on the global climate.

Small fish can play a big role in the 'biological pump'

(Phys.org)—A study in today's issue of Scientific Reports, a new online journal from the Nature Publishing Group, shows that small forage fish like anchovies can play an important role in the "biological pump," the process ...

Unraveling the ocean's secrets

In the absence of carbon, life on Earth cannot exist. Yet much of how this fundamental element circulates throughout the planet's oceans remains a scientific mystery.

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