How Life in the Ocean Shapes Earth's Climate

[stevegamer]

What would happen if all marine life vanished from our oceans? A recent study explores this extreme hypothetical to reveal just how vital ocean biology is to Earth’s climate system—past, present, and future.


The ocean is a powerful regulator of climate, currently absorbing around 25% of carbon dioxide emissions caused by human activity. Much of this carbon uptake is made possible by marine organisms, which transport carbon from the surface to the deep ocean through a process known as the biological carbon pump. Tiny plankton absorb carbon near the surface, and when they die, their sinking bodies carry this carbon into the depths, helping to keep atmospheric CO2 levels in check.


To assess the true impact of this process, researchers Jerry Tjiputra, Damien Couespel, and Richard Sanders from NORCE and the Bjerknes Centre used the Norwegian Earth System Model (NorESM) to simulate a planet with and without marine life. Their study, published in Nature Communications, reveals that eliminating all oceanic organisms would result in a dramatic 50% increase in atmospheric CO2.


Interestingly, their simulations also showed that land ecosystems would attempt to compensate, absorbing roughly half of the carbon that the ocean could no longer sequester in the absence of marine life. This finding underscores a previously underappreciated interaction between land and ocean ecosystems.

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The study challenges the conventional belief that the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon is dominated by physical and chemical processes. According to lead author Jerry Tjiputra, biological activity is equally essential: without marine organisms cycling carbon at the surface, carbon concentrations in surface waters rise, limiting further uptake from the atmosphere.


The researchers ran additional simulations comparing pre-industrial climate conditions with projections for the future, with and without marine ecosystems. In every scenario, the presence of ocean life significantly reduced atmospheric carbon levels.


Without marine life, the Earth would experience faster and more severe warming, and this could potentially trigger feedback mechanisms that accelerate climate change even further. The findings highlight the indispensable role of marine biology in climate regulation and the potential risks of overlooking these natural systems in climate models and mitigation strategies.