Tiny comets under the sea - Institut de la mer de Villefranche
Article Dans Une Revue Science Année : 2024

Tiny comets under the sea

Résumé

Phytoplankton produce organic matter in the sunlit upper ocean, which forms particles of “marine snow” that sink and transfer carbon from the surface to the deep ocean. These particles sustain a vast carbon reservoir and are consumed to provide energy to ecosystems in the deep sea (1). Deciphering what controls carbon transfer by marine snow has been a central question in oceanography since the 1980s. However, the formation, sinking, and consumption of this particulate matter involve many physical, chemical, and biological processes. Thus, the overall impact of sinking particles on the ocean’s carbon cycle remains highly uncertain and poorly understood (2). On page 166 of this issue, Chajwa et al. (3) report mucus “comet tails” of marine snow that substantially affect the sinking speed and transfer of carbon in the upper ocean. These observations provide new insights into how the composition of marine particles alters ocean ecology and biogeochemistry.

Domaines

Océanographie
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
Cael & Guidi draft #3.pdf (154.32 Ko) Télécharger le fichier
Origine Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)
licence

Dates et versions

hal-04735106 , version 1 (16-10-2024)

Licence

Identifiants

Citer

B. Cael, Lionel Guidi. Tiny comets under the sea. Science, 2024, 386 (6718), pp.149-150. ⟨10.1126/science.ads5642⟩. ⟨hal-04735106⟩
0 Consultations
0 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

More