Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry
Studying marine ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles in the face of environmental change
  • Home
  • About OCB
    • About Us
    • Get Involved
    • Project Office
    • Code of Conduct
    • Scientific Steering Committee
    • OCB committees
      • Ocean Time-series
      • US Biogeochemical-Argo
      • Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction
    • Scientific Breadth
      • Biological Pump
      • Changing Marine Ecosystems
      • Changing Ocean Chemistry
      • Estuarine and Coastal Carbon Fluxes
      • Ocean Carbon Uptake and Storage
      • Ocean Observatories
  • Activities
    • OCB Webinar Series
    • Summer Workshops
    • Scoping Workshops
    • Other Workshops
    • Science Planning
      • Coastal CARbon Synthesis (CCARS)
      • North Atlantic-Arctic
    • Ocean Acidification PI Meetings
    • Training Activities
  • Small Group Activities
    • Aquatic Continuum OCB-NACP Focus Group
    • CMIP6 Working Group
      • CMIP6 Models Workshop
    • Filling the gaps in observation-based estimates of air–sea carbon fluxes working group
    • Fish Carbon Working Group
      • Fish Carbon WG Workshop
      • Fish carbon workshop summary
    • Lateral Carbon Flux in Tidal Wetlands
    • Metaproteomic Intercomparison
    • N-Fixation Working Group
    • Ocean Carbonate System Intercomparison Forum
    • Ocean Carbon Uptake Working Groups
    • Ocean Nucleic Acids ‘Omics
    • Phytoplankton Taxonomy Working Group
  • Science Support
    • Data management and archival
    • Early Career
    • Funding Sources
    • Jobs & Postdocs
    • Meeting List
    • OCB topical websites
      • Ocean Fertilization
      • Trace gases
      • US IIOE-2
    • Outreach & Education
    • Promoting your science
    • Student Opportunities
    • OCB Activity Proposal Solicitations
    • Travel Support
  • Publications
    • Ocean Carbon Exchange
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Science Planning and Policy
    • OCB Workshop Reports
  • OCB Science Highlights
  • News

Archive for deep sea coral

Antarctic Ocean CO2 helped end the ice age

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Tuesday, April 2nd, 2019 

Many scientists have long hypothesized that the ocean around Antarctica was responsible for changing CO2 levels during ice ages, but lacked definitive evidence. A new study in Nature provides the most direct evidence of this process to date and provides crucial evidence of the mechanisms—including changing sea ice cover and bipolar seesaw (warming in the Southern Hemisphere during cooling in the Northern Hemisphere) events—that controlled CO2 and climate during the ice ages.

Using samples of fossil deep-sea corals collected from 1000 m in the Drake Passage (Figure 1a), the authors were able to reconstruct the CO2 content of the deep ocean. They found that the deep ocean CO2 record was the “mirror image” of CO2 in the atmosphere (Figure 1b), with the ocean storing CO2 during an ice age and releasing it back to the atmosphere during deglaciation. CO2 rise during the last ice age occurred in a series of steps and jumps associated with intervals of rapid climate change.

a
a
b
b

As well as helping scientists better understand the ice ages, the new findings also provide context to current CO2 rise and climate change. Although the CO2 rise that helped end the last ice age was dramatic in geological terms, CO2 rise due to human activity over the last 100 years is even larger and about 100 times faster. CO2 rise at the end of the ice age helped drive major melting of ice sheets resulting in sea level rise of >100 meters. These results bolster the idea that if we want to prevent dangerous levels of global warming and sea level rise in the future, we need to reduce CO2 emissions as quickly as possible

Authors:
J. W. B. Rae (University of St Andrews, UK)
A. Burke (University of St Andrews, UK)
L. F. Robinson (University of Bristol, UK)
J. F. Adkins (California Institute of Technology)
T. Chen (University of Bristol, UK, Nanjing University, China)
C. Cole (University of St Andrews, UK)
R. Greenop (University of St Andrews, UK)
T. Li (University of Bristol, UK, Nanjing University, China)
E. F. M. Littley (University of St Andrews, UK)
D. C. Nita (University of St Andrews, UK, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania)
J. A. Stewart (University of St Andrews, UK, University of Bristol, UK)
B. J. Taylor (University of St Andrews, UK)

Filter by Keyword

abundance acidification africa air-sea interactions alkalinity allometry ammonium AMOC anoxia anoxic Antarctic anthropogenic carbon aragonite saturation arctic arsenic Atlantic Atlantic modeling atmospheric CO2 atmospheric nitrogen deposition authigenic carbonates autonomous platforms bacteria BATS bgc argo bioavailability biogeochemical cycles biogeochemical models biogeochemistry biological pump biological uptake biophysics bloom blooms blue carbon bottom water boundary layer buffer capacity CaCO3 calcification calcite carbon-climate feedback carbon-sulfur coupling carbon cycle carbon dioxide carbon sequestration Caribbean CCA CCS changing marine ecosystems changing ocean chemistry chemoautotroph chl a chlorophyll circulation climate change CO2 coastal ocean cobalt Coccolithophores community composition conservation cooling effect copepod coral reefs currents cyclone DCM decomposers decomposition deep convection deep ocean deep sea coral deoxygenation depth diagenesis diatoms DIC diel migration dimethylsulfide dissolved inorganic carbon dissolved organic carbon DOC DOM domoic acid dust earth system models eddy Education Ekman transport emissions ENSO enzyme equatorial regions error ESM estuarine and coastal carbon fluxes estuary euphotic zone eutrophication evolution export EXPORTS extreme weather events faecal pellets filter feeders filtration rates fish Fish carbon fisheries floats fluid dynamics fluorescence food webs forams freshening freshwater frontal zone future oceans geochemistry geoengineering GEOTRACES glaciers gliders global carbon budget global warming go-ship grazing greenhouse gas Greenland groundwater Gulf of Maine Gulf of Mexico Gulf Stream gyre harmful algal bloom high latitude human impact hydrothermal hypoxia ice age ice cores ice cover industrial onset inverse circulation iron iron fertilization isotopes jellies katabatic winds kelvin waves krill kuroshio land-ocean continuum larvaceans lateral transport lidar ligands light light attenuation mangroves marine food webs marine heatwave marine snowfall marshes Mediterranean meltwater mesopelagic mesoscale metagenome metals methane microbes microlayer microorganisms microscale microzooplankton midwater mixed layer mixed layers mixotrophy modeling mode water molecular diffusion MPT multi-decade NASA NCP net community production new technology nitrate nitrogen nitrogen fixation nitrous oxide north atlantic north pacific nutricline nutrient budget nutrient cycling nutrient limitation nutrients OA ocean-atmosphere ocean acidification ocean carbon uptake and storage ocean color ocean observatories ODZ oligotrophic omics OMZ open ocean optics organic particles overturning circulation oxygen pacific paleoceanography particle flux pCO2 PDO peat pelagic pH phenology phosphorus photosynthesis physical processes physiology phytoplankton plankton POC polar regions pollutants prediction primary productivity Prochlorococcus proteins pteropods pycnocline radioisotopes remineralization remote sensing residence time resource management respiration resuspension rivers rocky shore Rossby waves Ross Sea ROV salinity salt marsh satell satellite scale seafloor seagrass sea ice sea level rise seasonal patterns seaweed sediments sensors shelf system shells ship-based observations silicate sinking particles size SOCCOM soil carbon southern ocean south pacific spatial covariations speciation SST subduction submesoscale subpolar subtropical surface surface ocean Synechococcus teleconnections temperate temperature temporal covariations thermocline thermohaline thorium tidal time-series time of emergence top predators total alkalinity trace elements trace metals trait-based transfer efficiency transient features trophic transfer tropical turbulence twilight zone upper ocean upper water column upwelling US CLIVAR validation velocity gradient ventilation vertical flux vertical migration vertical transport volcano water quality western boundary currents wetlands winter mixing zooplankton

Copyright © 2021 - OCB Project Office, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Rd, MS #25, Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA Phone: 508-289-2838  •  Fax: 508-457-2193  •  Email: ocb_news@us-ocb.org

link to nsflink to noaalink to WHOI

Funding for the Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry Project Office is provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The OCB Project Office is housed at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.