Abstract
The ocean’s biological carbon pump (BCP) comprises a set of physical and biological processes that impact how carbon is exchanged between the atmosphere, the land, and the ocean. Sinking particles, such as “marine snow,” are a key mechanism of the BCP, where the depth of remineralization of carbon from these particles governs the extent to which carbon releases back into the atmosphere or sequesters in the deep ocean (Siegel et al., 2021). In addition, this sinking flux is a key energy source for deep water and benthic ecosystems. Studying these particles remains challenging, however, making it difficult to quantify carbon flux on a global scale. Global climate change further decreases the predictability of oceanic carbon flux due to the indirect changes induced by warming, ecosystem shifts, and acidification. Other human-induced alterations of the ocean’s carbon cycle, such as proposed marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) techniques like ocean alkalinity enhancement or nutrient fertilization, stand to further complicate carbon quantification and the ability to establish a carbon flux baseline from which future measurements can be compared and contextualized.
Published Version
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