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Marine life stirs ocean enough to affect climate, says FSU study
October 16, 2006TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Oceanographers worldwide pay close attention to phytoplankton and with good reason. The microscopic plants that form the vast foundation of the marine food chain generate a staggering amount of power, and now a groundbreaking study led by Florida State University has calculated just how much -- about five times the annual total power consumption of the human world.
Physical and biological oceanographers led by FSU Professor William Dewar put the yearly amount of chemical power stored by phytoplankton in the form of new organic matter at roughly 63 terawatts, and that's a lot of juice: Just one terawatt equals a trillion watts. In 2001, humans collectively consumed a comparatively measly 13.5 terawatts.
What's more, their study found that the marine biosphere -- the chain of sea life anchored by phytoplankton -- invests around one percent (1 terawatt) of its chemical power fortune in mechanical energy, which is manifested in the swimming motions of hungry ocean swimmers ranging from whales and fish to shrimp and krill. Those swimming motions mix the water much as cream is stirred into coffee by swiping a spoon through it.
And the sum of all that phytoplankton-fueled stirring may equal climate control.
"By interpreting existing data in a different way, we have predicted theoretically that the amount of mixing caused by ocean swimmers is comparable to the deep ocean mixing caused by the wind blowing on the ocean surface and the effects of the tides," Dewar said.
In fact, he explained, biosphere mixing appears to provide about one third the power required to bring the deep, cold waters of the world ocean to the surface, which in turn completes the ocean's conveyor belt circulation critical to the global climate system.
Findings from the FSU-led study ("Does the marine biosphere mix the ocean?") will appear in the forthcoming issue of the Journal of Marine Research, adding the role of major power broker to phytoplankton's already impressive credentials.
Scientists for some time have known that the highly sensitive plants act as reliable signals of environmental changes at or near the ocean surface through sudden declines or rapid growth -- and they have suspected that phytoplankton affect as well as reflect climate change when large, sustained plant populations gulp carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during grand-scale photosynthesis.
But along with the new calculations that point to the marine biosphere's bigger-than-expected role in ocean mixing and climate control, Dewar and his colleagues also suggest that human and environmental decimation of whale and big fish populations may have had a measurable impact on the total biomixing occurring in the world's oceans.
Florida State University
And the sum of all that phytoplankton-fueled stirring may equal climate control.
"By interpreting existing data in a different way, we have predicted theoretically that the amount of mixing caused by ocean swimmers is comparable to the deep ocean mixing caused by the wind blowing on the ocean surface and the effects of the tides," Dewar said.
In fact, he explained, biosphere mixing appears to provide about one third the power required to bring the deep, cold waters of the world ocean to the surface, which in turn completes the ocean's conveyor belt circulation critical to the global climate system.
Findings from the FSU-led study ("Does the marine biosphere mix the ocean?") will appear in the forthcoming issue of the Journal of Marine Research, adding the role of major power broker to phytoplankton's already impressive credentials.
Scientists for some time have known that the highly sensitive plants act as reliable signals of environmental changes at or near the ocean surface through sudden declines or rapid growth -- and they have suspected that phytoplankton affect as well as reflect climate change when large, sustained plant populations gulp carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during grand-scale photosynthesis.
But along with the new calculations that point to the marine biosphere's bigger-than-expected role in ocean mixing and climate control, Dewar and his colleagues also suggest that human and environmental decimation of whale and big fish populations may have had a measurable impact on the total biomixing occurring in the world's oceans.
Florida State University
Marine Life News and Current Marine Life Events RSSSignals from the Atlantic Salmon Highway
For years scientists have struggled to understand the decline and slow recovery of Atlantic salmon, a once abundant and highly prized game and food fish native to New England rivers. Biologists agree that poor marine survival is affecting salmon in the U.S. and Canada, but specific causes are difficult to determine in the ocean. Small acoustic tags and associated technology may provide some answers.
Study shows continued spread of 'dead zones'
A global study led by Professor Robert Diaz of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, shows that the number of "dead zones"-areas of seafloor with too little oxygen for most marine life-has increased by a third between 1995 and 2007.
Lionfish decimating tropical fish populations, threaten coral reefs
The invasion of predatory lionfish in the Caribbean region poses yet another major threat there to coral reef ecosystems - a new study has found that within a short period after the entry of lionfish into an area, the survival of other reef fishes is slashed by about 80 percent.
NOAA and partners to survey German subs sunk off North Carolina during World War II
NOAA will lead a research expedition July 7-26 to study the wrecks of three German submarines sunk by U.S. forces in 1942 off the coast of North Carolina during the Battle of the Atlantic.
Scientists discover new reefs teeming with marine life in Brazil
Scientists announced today the discovery of reef structures they believe doubles the size of the Southern Atlantic Ocean's largest and richest reef system, the Abrolhos Bank, off the southern coast of Brazil's Bahia state. The newly discovered area is also far more abundant in marine life than the previously known Abrolhos reef system, one of the world's most unique and important reefs.
Dry Tortugas show positive trends: Protected area slowly rebounding
A team of 38 research divers from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, NOAA Fisheries Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the National Park Service, REEF, and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington recently completed a successful 20-day biennial census to measure how the protected status of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary's Tortugas Ecological Reserve and Dry Tortugas National Park's Research Natural Area are helping the regional ecosystem rebound from decades of overfishing and environmental changes.
Queen's marine biologist investigates aliens beneath the waves
Queen's University Belfast is appealing for help from the public in looking at ways to detect and stop the spread of marine aliens.
Persistent Man-made Chemical Pollutants Found in Deep-sea Octopods and Squids
New evidence that chemical contaminants are finding their way into the deep-sea food web has been found in deep-sea squids and octopods, including the strange-looking "vampire squid". These species are food for deep-diving toothed whales and other predators.
Geoengineering could slow down the global water cycle
As fossil fuel emissions continue to climb, reducing the amount of sunlight hitting the Earth would definitely have a cooling effect on surface temperatures.
Ocean acidification -- another undesired side effect of fossil fuel-burning
Up to now, the oceans have buffered climate change considerably by absorbing almost one third of the worldwide emitted carbon dioxide. The oceans represent a significant carbon sink, but the uptake of excess CO2 stemming from man's burning of fossil fuels comes at a high cost: ocean acidification.
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