Media Releases and Opportunities
» Go to news mainMedia opportunity: Researchers discover new marine conveyor belt that moves carbon‑rich particles to the deep sea, absorbing as much atmospheric CO2 as Iceland’s yearly emissions
A team of researchers has discovered a new marine conveyor belt that moves more than 2,000 metric tons of carbon into the Arctic deep sea every day -- the equivalent atmospheric CO2 as Iceland’s yearly emissions.
The scientists, who were part of an Arctic expedition in 2018, found large quantities of particulate carbon in the Nansen Basin of the central Arctic. Further analyses revealed a body of water with large amounts of particulate carbon at depths of up to two kilometres, composed of bottom water from the Barents Sea.
This finding, outlined in a paper released today by first author Dr. Andreas Rogge of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany, suggests the Barents Sea could effectively remove roughly 30 per cent more carbon from the atmosphere than previously thought.
The plume of water, which spans the Barents and Kara Sea shelf roughly 1,000 kilometres into the Arctic Basin, contains carbon-absorbing algae that sinks to the deep sea, where it stays for several thousand years. If the carbon is deposited in deep-sea sediments, it can even be trapped there for millions of years.
Dr. Anya Waite, scientific director at the Ocean Frontier Institute and a professor in Dalhousie University's Department of Oceanography, participated in the research mission and is the paper's senior author.
Dr. Waite is available to discuss how the biological carbon pump can remove carbon from the atmosphere for long periods of time and how an understanding of these processes is essential to creating global carbon dioxide budgets and projections for global warming.
-30-
Images can be found in the media library.
Media contact:
Alison Auld
Senior Research Reporter
Communications, Marketing and Creative Services
Dalhousie University
Cell: 1-902-220-0491
Email: alison.auld@dal.ca
Recent News
- Media opportunity: Being involved in extracurricular activities really does matter when it comes to 'mattering': Dalhousie University research
- Media opportunity: Podcast by Dalhousie researcher and Halifax photographer looks at barriers to Nova Scotia's coastline, decreasing access to waterfronts and problems with litter, marine debris in public coastal areas
- Media opportunity: Dalhousie University researcher pioneers new cancer treatment ‑‑ cutting‑edge CAR‑T cell therapy
- Media opportunity: Research sheds light on the difficulty temporary foreign workers can face in securing permanent residency in P.E.I.
- Media opportunity: World's largest stores of unfrozen freshwater projected to warm and affect cold‑water habitats, geothermal energy resources and drinking water quality : Dalhousie University research
- Media release: Dalhousie University research reveals conservation benefits are doubled for reef sharks and rays in fully protected marine areas that also have strong fisheries management
- Media release: New program partners Dalhousie researcher and IWK Health to tackle violence against women
- Media opportunity: Dalhousie University researchers and an international team identify new strain of mpox virus in Africa that can spread through heterosexual sex and community contact
Comments
comments powered by Disqus