Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2025

Measuring Carbon-based Contaminant Mineralization Using Combined CO2 Flux and Radiocarbon Analyses
Published on: October 21, 2016
The biological carbon pump, diel vertical migration, and carbon dioxide removal
1Instituto de Oceanografía y Cambio Global, IOCAG, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Unidad Asociada ULPGC-CSIC, Campus de Taliarte, Telde, 35214 Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain.
Abstract:
Carbon dioxide is increasing in the atmosphere promoting the faster environmental change of the Earth's recent history. Several marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) technologies were proposed to slow down CO2 in the atmosphere. Technologies now under experimentation are related to the increase in gravitational flux. Other mechanisms such as active flux, the transport performed by diel vertical migrants (DVMs) were not considered. We review the effect of DVMs in the epipelagic realm and the top-down promoted by these organisms upon zooplankton and microzooplankton, and their variability due to lunar cycles. A night source of weak light will increase epipelagic zooplankton biomass due to DVMs avoidance from the upper layers to escape predation, promoting DVMs to export this biomass by active flux once the illumination ceases. This mCDR method should be tested in the field as it will increase the efficiency of the biological carbon pump in the ocean.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
The Carbon Cycle
Bioremediation
The Calvin Benson Cycle
C4 Pathway and CAM
C4 Pathway
The C4 pathway is used by plants such as...
What are Biogeochemical Cycles?
Carbon Dioxide Transport in the Blood
Forms of CO2 Transport
1. Dissolved in plasma: A small percentage (7-10%) of CO2 is transported and dissolved directly in the plasma.
2. Carbaminohemoglobin: Just over 20% of CO2 is chemically bound to...

