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Nature 414, 495-498 (29 November 2001) | doi:10.1038/35107174
Oceanography: Sea snow microcosms
Farooq Azam1 & Richard A. Long1
Abstract
Marine bacteria can respond to organic particles in sea water, creating hotspots of bacterial growth and carbon cycling. This microscale behaviour should be included in models of the oceanic carbon cycle.
Oceanographers exploring the ocean's carbon cycle, and its role in climate change, do so at a grand scale. Satellite measurements of ocean colour are used to infer carbon dioxide (CO2) assimilation into organic matter by photosynthetic organisms — a process known as carbon fixation.
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