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Published online 17 April 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.760
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Phytoplankton responding to climate change
But the ocean organisms may not remove more carbon dioxide from the air.
The microscopic marine organisms called coccolithophores, one of nature’s most prolific consumers of atmospheric carbon dioxide, may continue to absorb carbon at today's rates — even as greenhouse-gas concentrations continue to rise.
Coccolithophores are phytoplankton that live in the upper layers of the world's oceans.
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Increased solar activity results in an increase of harmful radiation, reducing bio-mass of the surface phytoplankton through process of sterilisation by irradiation. Result of this is a reduced uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere leading to rise in the 'green-house' effect. Reverse process takes place during reductions in the solar activity.
If scientists focus on details of physiological and molecular mechanisms of the creature`s response to CO2 change, a more convincing or even fresh conclusion will be made, although that needs totally different expertise and knowledge than observing correlation between CO2 change and CaCO3 increase by the Phytoplankton.
Do actual scientists ever post comments on these articles? John Mayer
They do indeed...
Nevertheless, holocene warming has occurred essentially without CO2 increase. Hence one can warm a planet in some way other than greenhouse gases. Increased photosynthesis, both oceanic and terrestrial, due to increased temperature, might be a delayed compensatory self-regulatory way for nature to regulate CO2. Do we fully understand carbon sinks, especially oceanic? Do we under estimate nature's dominant delayed effect(s), and over estimate our impact on our planet?