GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel
Wischhofstr. 1-3
24148 Kiel
Tel.: 0431 600-0
Fax: 0431 600-2805
E-mail: info(at)geomar.de
online 11 am
When? Monday, 10 May 2021 at 11am
Where? ZOOM meeting room: https://geomar-de.zoom.us/j/82023824422?pwd=UFR2V2M4L2NPOG1yaCtCN3NUUTV2UT09
Meeting-ID: 820 2382 4422
Kenncode: 543551
Theory suggests that the ocean’s biological carbon pump, the process by which organic matter is produced at the surface and transferred to the deep ocean, is sensitive to temperature because temperature controls photosynthesis and respiration rates. We applied a combined data-modelling approach to investigate carbon and nutrient recycling rates across the world ocean over the past 15 million years of global cooling. We found that the efficiency of the biological carbon pump increased with ocean cooling as the result of a temperature-dependent reduction in the rate of remineralization (degradation) of sinking organic matter. Increased food delivery at depth prompted the development of new deep-water niches, triggering deep plankton evolution and the expansion of the mesopelagic “twilight zone” ecosystem.