Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Biological Carbon Pump Storage in Oceans: Huge Importance of Marine Snow Rates and Water Pressure
The oceans of the world sequester around 25 to 26% of yearly anthropogenic emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere.
The primary mechanism for absorption of carbon is the so called Biological Carbon Pump, whereby phytoplankton and small plant life like diatoms capture the carbon in the water for their growth.
Much of this carbon then falls as so-called "marine snow" from the near surface regions into the deep ocean. If it makes it to the deep ocean floor, the carbon can be stored for thousands to hundreds of thousand years.
However, the two new studies I chat about find out that somewhere from 50 to 60% of the carbon in the marine snow is re-released into the water column when the marine snow reaches depths of between 2 and 6 km due to the massive hydrostatic water pressure.
We really are learning new things about life processes and carbon all the time.
Enjoy...
Please donate to PaulBeckwith.net to support my research and videos connecting the dots on abrupt climate system mayhem.
GoFundMe: gofundme.com/f/help-paul-continue-his-climate-emergency-research
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel. As well as my website, and YouTube, you can find me on Patreon, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit (multiple climate channels within), Quora, TikTok, Discord, Mastodon, Twitch, Vimeo, Bluesky, TruthSocial, Threads, Substack, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc...
References and Links:
BlueSky posting by IPSO (International Program on State of the Ocean)
Sinking marine particles leak carbon under high pressure in the deep ocean.
This newly identified process weakens the biological carbon pump and helps explain why less carbon reaches the deep sea than expected. #DeepSea
https://bsky.app/profile/oceanipso.bsky.social/post/3msfqivyqdp2s
Science Advances Peer-Reviewed Paper:
The ocean’s biological carbon pump under pressure
Direct Link: science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aef3182
Abstract
Increasing hydrostatic pressure induces the release of dissolved organic matter from rapidly settling marine particles and contributes to the depth attenuation of carbon fluxes.
The ocean is a major sink of carbon and governs atmospheric carbon dioxide levels on timescales of tens to thousands of years. This important role is related to the large volume and surface area of the ocean and the reaction of carbon dioxide with water that eventually results in bicarbonate and carbonate ions that do not exchange directly with the atmosphere. The partitioning of carbon between a well-mixed ocean and the atmosphere would result in a preindustrial atmospheric carbon dioxide level about double the value inferred from ice-core studies. However, ocean mixing is sluggish, and there is a substantial gradient in dissolved inorganic carbon between the ocean’s surface and deeper waters. Because of this gradient, ocean carbon storage is about 10% higher than it would be in a homogenous ocean, and atmospheric carbon dioxide is two times lower, consistent with preindustrial carbon dioxide values (1)...
Science Advances Peer-Reviewed Paper:
Hydrostatic pressure induces strong leakage of dissolved organic matter from “marine snow” particles
Direct link to paper: science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aec5677
Abstract
Marine snow forms at the ocean surface, sinks to depth, and ultimately enables carbon sequestration in the seabed. Fast-sinking marine snow particles, such as diatom aggregates, encounter a rapid increase in hydrostatic pressure during their descent. Using incubations in rotating pressure tanks, we found that pressure levels corresponding to 2- to 6-kilometer water depth induce leakage of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from diatom aggregates equivalent to ~50% of their initial carbon contents. The leaked DOM proved to be diatom-derived and changed the amount and composition of DOM in the surrounding seawater substantially. Ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry, high protein-like fluorescence, and low carbon:nitrogen ratios classified the leaked DOM as labile. The bioavailability of leaked DOM was demonstrated by its rapid utilization by a pelagic microbial community, leaving mainly recalcitrant DOM behind. Pressure-induced DOM leakage likely weakens the gravitational “biological carbon pump” and supplies labile DOM to the pelagic microbiome of the deep ocean.
Please donate to PaulBeckwith.net to support my research and videos connecting the dots on abrupt climate system mayhem.
GoFundMe: gofundme.com/f/help-paul-continue-his-climate-emergency-research
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel. As well as my website, and YouTube, you can find me on Patreon, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit (multiple climate channels within), Quora, TikTok, Discord, Mastodon, Twitch, Vimeo, Bluesky, TruthSocial, Threads, Substack, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc...
Biological Carbon Pump Storage in Oceans: Huge Importance of Marine Snow Rates and Water Pressure
The oceans of the world sequester around 25 to 26% of yearly anthropogenic emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere.
The primary mechanism for absorption of carbon is the so called Biological Carbon Pump, whereby phytoplankton and small plant life like diatoms capture the carbon in the water for their growth.
Much of this carbon then falls as so-called "marine snow" from the near surface regions into the deep ocean. If it makes it to the deep ocean floor, the carbon can be stored for thousands to hundreds of thousand years.
However, the two new studies I chat about find out that somewhere from 50 to 60% of the carbon in the marine snow is re-released into the water column when the marine snow reaches depths of between 2 and 6 km due to the massive hydrostatic water pressure.
We really are learning new things about life processes and carbon all the time.
Enjoy...
Please donate to PaulBeckwith.net to support my research and videos connecting the dots on abrupt climate system mayhem.
GoFundMe: gofundme.com/f/help-paul-continue-his-climate-emergency-research
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel. As well as my website, and YouTube, you can find me on Patreon, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit (multiple climate channels within), Quora, TikTok, Discord, Mastodon, Twitch, Vimeo, Bluesky, TruthSocial, Threads, Substack, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc...
References and Links:
BlueSky posting by IPSO (International Program on State of the Ocean)
Sinking marine particles leak carbon under high pressure in the deep ocean.
This newly identified process weakens the biological carbon pump and helps explain why less carbon reaches the deep sea than expected. #DeepSea
https://bsky.app/profile/oceanipso.bsky.social/post/3msfqivyqdp2s
Science Advances Peer-Reviewed Paper:
The ocean’s biological carbon pump under pressure
Direct Link: science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aef3182
Abstract
Increasing hydrostatic pressure induces the release of dissolved organic matter from rapidly settling marine particles and contributes to the depth attenuation of carbon fluxes.
The ocean is a major sink of carbon and governs atmospheric carbon dioxide levels on timescales of tens to thousands of years. This important role is related to the large volume and surface area of the ocean and the reaction of carbon dioxide with water that eventually results in bicarbonate and carbonate ions that do not exchange directly with the atmosphere. The partitioning of carbon between a well-mixed ocean and the atmosphere would result in a preindustrial atmospheric carbon dioxide level about double the value inferred from ice-core studies. However, ocean mixing is sluggish, and there is a substantial gradient in dissolved inorganic carbon between the ocean’s surface and deeper waters. Because of this gradient, ocean carbon storage is about 10% higher than it would be in a homogenous ocean, and atmospheric carbon dioxide is two times lower, consistent with preindustrial carbon dioxide values (1)...
Science Advances Peer-Reviewed Paper:
Hydrostatic pressure induces strong leakage of dissolved organic matter from “marine snow” particles
Direct link to paper: science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aec5677
Abstract
Marine snow forms at the ocean surface, sinks to depth, and ultimately enables carbon sequestration in the seabed. Fast-sinking marine snow particles, such as diatom aggregates, encounter a rapid increase in hydrostatic pressure during their descent. Using incubations in rotating pressure tanks, we found that pressure levels corresponding to 2- to 6-kilometer water depth induce leakage of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from diatom aggregates equivalent to ~50% of their initial carbon contents. The leaked DOM proved to be diatom-derived and changed the amount and composition of DOM in the surrounding seawater substantially. Ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry, high protein-like fluorescence, and low carbon:nitrogen ratios classified the leaked DOM as labile. The bioavailability of leaked DOM was demonstrated by its rapid utilization by a pelagic microbial community, leaving mainly recalcitrant DOM behind. Pressure-induced DOM leakage likely weakens the gravitational “biological carbon pump” and supplies labile DOM to the pelagic microbiome of the deep ocean.
Please donate to PaulBeckwith.net to support my research and videos connecting the dots on abrupt climate system mayhem.
GoFundMe: gofundme.com/f/help-paul-continue-his-climate-emergency-research
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel. As well as my website, and YouTube, you can find me on Patreon, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit (multiple climate channels within), Quora, TikTok, Discord, Mastodon, Twitch, Vimeo, Bluesky, TruthSocial, Threads, Substack, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc...
