Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Unraveling the Unseen Players in the Ocean - A Field Guide to Water Chemistry and Marine Microbiology
Published on: November 5, 2014
Role of marine biology in glacial-interglacial CO2 cycles
Karen E Kohfeld1, Corinne Le Quéré, Sandy P Harrison
1Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany. office@kohfeld.com
Abstract:
It has been hypothesized that changes in the marine biological pump caused a major portion of the glacial reduction of atmospheric carbon dioxide by 80 to 100 parts per million through increased iron fertilization of marine plankton, increased ocean nutrient content or utilization, or shifts in dominant plankton types. We analyze sedimentary records of marine productivity at the peak and the middle of the last glacial cycle and show that neither changes in nutrient utilization in the Southern Ocean nor shifts in plankton dominance explain the CO2 drawdown. Iron fertilization and associated mechanisms can be responsible for no more than half the observed drawdown.
More Related Videos
11:19Measuring Carbon-based Contaminant Mineralization Using Combined CO2 Flux and Radiocarbon Analyses
Published on: October 21, 2016
13:38Laser-Induced Fluorescence Emission (L.I.F.E.) as Novel Non-Invasive Tool for In-Situ Measurements of Biomarkers in Cryospheric Habitats
Published on: October 26, 2019
Related Concept Videos
The Carbon Cycle
Carbon-dioxide Fixation
Microbes and the Carbon Cycle
Marine Microbial Ecology
Freshwater Microbial Ecology
Microbes and Climate Change