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The Oceanic carbon cycle is a central process to the global carbon cycle and contains both inorganic carbon (carbon not associated with a living thing, such as carbon dioxide) and organic carbon (carbon that is, or has been, incorporated into a living thing). Part of the marine carbon cycle transforms carbon between non-living and living matter.
Ocean mixed layer carbon, c m, is the only explicitly modelled ocean stock of carbon; though to estimate carbon cycle feedbacks the total ocean carbon is also calculated. [107] Current trends in climate change lead to higher ocean temperatures and acidity, thus modifying marine ecosystems. [108]
The Oceanic carbon cycle is a central process to the global carbon cycle and contains both inorganic carbon (carbon not associated with a living thing, such as carbon dioxide) and organic carbon (carbon that is, or has been, incorporated into a living thing). Part of the marine carbon cycle transforms carbon between non-living and living matter.
Particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) usually takes the form of calcium carbonate (CaCO 3), and plays a key part in the ocean carbon cycle. [36] This biologically fixed carbon is used as a protective coating for many planktonic species (coccolithophores, foraminifera) as well as larger marine organisms (mollusk shells).
Carbon dioxide forms carbonic acid when dissolved in water, so ocean acidification is a significant consequence of elevated carbon dioxide levels, and limits the rate at which it can be absorbed into the ocean (the solubility pump).
The process of photosynthesis in the surface ocean releases oxygen and consumes carbon dioxide. This photosynthesis in the ocean is dominated by phytoplankton – microscopic free-floating algae. After the plants grow, bacterial decomposition of the organic matter formed by photosynthesis in the ocean consumes oxygen and releases carbon dioxide.
The surface ocean engages in air-sea interactions and absorbs carbon dioxide (CO 2) from the atmosphere, making the ocean the Earth's largest sink for atmospheric CO 2. Carbon dioxide dissolves in and reacts with seawater to form carbonic acid. Subsequent reactions then produce carbonate (CO 3 2−), bicarbonate (HCO 3 −), and hydrogen (H ...
Presently, about one third (approximately 2 gigatons of carbon per year) [2] [3] of anthropogenic emissions of CO 2 are believed to be entering the ocean. The solubility pump is the primary mechanism driving this flux, with the consequence that anthropogenic CO 2 is reaching the ocean interior via high latitude sites of deep water formation ...