Huge Phytoplankton Bloom Found Under Arctic Ice

ananyo writes "Researchers have been shocked to find a record-breaking phytoplankton bloom hidden under Arctic ice. The finding is a big surprise — few scientists thought blooms of this size could grow in Arctic waters. The finding implies that the Arctic is much more productive than previously thought — researchers now think some 25% of the Arctic Ocean has conditions conducive to such blooms (abstract). The discovery also helps to explain why Arctic waters have proven such a good carbon dioxide sink."

Comments

Re:How is plankton a good carbon sink?

[v1]

The carbon was VERY well sequestered for ~700 million years..... until humans came-along and start digging it out of coal mountains/oil wells and burning it. If humans had not done that, the carbon would still be sequestered under the ground and GW not an issue.

You may not like it, but we are restoring the balance back to what it was so long ago. Who's to say that one way is better than the other? (unless you currently own beachfront property anyway)

Trying to do away with global warming in the end is about as futile as trying to do away with winter.

Don't You Love Posts Like This? Who knew?

[fygment]

Who knew Arctic waters were CO2 sinks? Never heard that one till now. It's not like you see a post here on /. saying "Don't forget that the Arctic Ocean is a CO2 so maybe ..."

And who knew the plankton blooms could be so big? You would almost think that biologists knew it all, and then something like this happens Or life is discovered in an impossible place where it was never thought it could survive.

So much still to be discovered by those who study our planet. So much is unknown. And yet ... the climate models are accurate and the source of all climate ills is human. So let's implement sweeping policy changes and apply engineering measures to control the atmosphere, the water, the land.

Yeah, whatever.