What Is The Scientific Basis For OIF?
First, the oceans play a central role in the natural carbon cycle of the Earth. Within the global carbon cycle, 45% of annual carbon turnover is driven by the primary productivity of ocean phytoplankton, and the oceans contain 93% of the biologically active carbon within the global carbon cycle. Large-scale variations in the carbon content of the atmosphere have been heavily influenced by the oceans on timescales ranging from thousands to millions of years. Second, the “biological pump” is the dominant biogeochemical process in the ocean, and the primary means by which carbon sequestration occurs naturally there. It is driven by the growth and subsequent export to depth of biomass dominated by phytoplankton (microscopic marine photosynthesizers). As these organisms bloom, mature, and die in a 60-day life cycle, they either lose buoyancy or are grazed by zooplankton. In either case, a significant fraction of the dead organisms or fecal pellets aggregate into falling particles and sink t
First, the oceans play a central role in the natural carbon cycle of the Earth. Within the global carbon cycle, 45% of annual carbon turnover is driven by the primary productivity of ocean phytoplankton, and the oceans contain 93% of the biologically active carbon within the global carbon cycle. Large-scale variations in the carbon content of the atmosphere have been heavily influenced by the oceans on timescales ranging from thousands to millions of years. Second, the “biological pump” is the dominant biogeochemical process in the ocean, and the primary means by which carbon sequestration occurs naturally there. It is driven by the growth and subsequent export to depth of biomass dominated by phytoplankton (microscopic marine photosynthesizers). As these organisms bloom, mature, and die in a 60-day life cycle, they either lose buoyancy or are grazed by zooplankton. In either case, a significant fraction of the dead organisms or fecal pellets aggregate into falling particles and sink t
