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Multi-faceted particle pumps drive carbon sequestration in the ocean
Philip W Boyd1, Hervé Claustre2, Marina Levy3
1Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. philip.boyd@utas.edu.au.
Nature
|April 19, 2019
Summary
The ocean sequesters atmospheric carbon through particle sinking, but other "particle injection pumps" may be equally important for deep-sea carbon storage. These mechanisms help balance the ocean
Area of Science:
- Oceanography
- Climate Science
- Marine Biology
Background:
- The ocean plays a critical role in regulating global climate by sequestering atmospheric carbon.
- The biological pump, driven by sinking organic particles, is a key mechanism for deep-ocean carbon storage.
- Current models suggest gravitational settling alone is insufficient to explain deep-sea carbon budgets and nutrient cycling.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and highlight additional mechanisms, termed 'particle injection pumps,' that contribute to carbon transport to the deep ocean.
- To propose that these particle injection pumps play a significant role in sequestering carbon, potentially matching the contribution of the gravitational pump.
- To emphasize the need for further research into the environmental controls and significance of these pumps for closing the ocean's carbon budget.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of biological and physical processes involved in particle transport to the deep ocean.
- Synthesis of existing data on particle fluxes and carbon budgets in the mesopelagic zone.
- Conceptualization of 'particle injection pumps' as a complementary mechanism to the gravitational biological pump.
Main Results:
- Identified multiple biological and physical mechanisms that inject suspended and sinking particles to ocean depths.
- Proposed that these particle injection pumps contribute substantially to carbon sequestration, potentially equaling the flux from gravitational settling.
- Highlighted discrepancies in mesopelagic carbon budgets that are better explained by including these additional pumps.
Conclusions:
- Particle injection pumps are likely a major, underestimated component of the ocean's biological carbon pump.
- Understanding these pumps is crucial for accurately modeling ocean carbon sequestration and its response to climate change.
- Further investigation into the environmental drivers and quantitative impact of particle injection pumps is warranted.
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