Deep sea as a climate saver: New insights into carbon storage!

Deep sea as a climate saver: New insights into carbon storage!

The deep sea is a mystery that fascinates scientists worldwide. A new podcast, “Life in the Deep Biosphere,” highlights the challenges and achievements in this little-known research area. Reported in the current episode of the podcast “Excellently explained – cutting-edge research for everyone”. University of Bremen by two experts who address the topic of carbon storage in the ocean. The focus is on the role of organic material and its impact on the global carbon cycle.

Podcaster Larissa Vassilian speaks with Dr. Florence Schubotz, biogeochemist at MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen, and Dr. Michael Seidel, a scientist at the ICBM at the University of Oldenburg. The focus is on the storage of dissolved organic material in the ocean as well as the importance of this material for microorganisms and their influence on the carbon content in the ocean over thousands of years.

The importance of the ocean in climate change

The research from both universities makes it clear that the ocean not only stores large amounts of carbon, but also plays a crucial role in global climate change. The ocean regulates the climate and supplies the atmosphere with oxygen. As part of this research, a topic was addressed that is being investigated by a team led by Gerhard J. Herndl from the University of Vienna. They analyze the role of the deep sea as a carbon sink in climate change and the efficiency with which deep sea microbes can process dissolved organic matter. According to reports from University of Vienna However, these processes are inefficient.

Dissolved organic substances, which come from various organisms and include carbohydrates, proteins and nucleic acids, are subject to a long age stability in the deep sea. As a rule, these substances are between 4,000 and 6,000 years old, which limits their availability to microbes. In addition, a modification of the molecular structure could prevent deep-sea microbes from using these substances efficiently. During an upcoming research trip in the Pacific, the scientists want to investigate the influences of pressure conditions on microbial activity.

Research on carbon storage and its challenges

Calculations show that bacterial cells in the deep sea encounter the same organic molecule every 15 seconds to 12 minutes. The high diversity and dilution of the dissolved organic molecules make their efficient use by microbes considerably more difficult. Additionally, research in the journal Science questions the geoengineering strategy that aims to store dissolved organic carbon in the deep sea to combat rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Findings about the role of the ocean and understanding the complex processes in the deep sea are crucial. The ongoing studies and the exchange in the form of podcasts make a decisive contribution to a better understanding. This research can contribute to long-term ocean carbon storage and climate research, and illuminates how much remains to be discovered. There are still many unexplored processes in the deep sea that are worth discovering.

For those interested, further information is available on the websites of the Ocean Floor Cluster, MARUM and ICBM. The podcast “Life in the Deep Biosphere” is already available online and offers an exciting philosophical approach to these profound scientific topics.