Plankton

Research reveals that oceans store 20% more carbon dioxide than previously estimated, primarily through plankton transporting carbon to the seabed. This new understanding, however, doesn’t significantly impact the current CO2 emission crisis. The ocean’s capacity to store atmospheric carbon dioxide is some 20% greater than the estimates contained in the latest IPCC report.[1] These are the findings of a study that was published in the journal Nature on December 6, 2023, led by an international team including a biologist from the CNRS.[2] The scientists looked at the role played by plankton in the natural transport of carbon from surface waters down to the seabed. Plankton gobble up carbon dioxide and, as they grow, convert it into organic tissue via photosynthesis. When they die, part of the plankton is transformed into particles known as ‘marine snow’.  Being denser than seawater, these particles sink dow...