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Sedimentation is a long-term sink for carbon in the ocean, as well as the largest loss of carbon from the oceanic system. [43] Deep marine sediments and geologic formations are important since they provide a thorough record of life on Earth and an important source of fossil fuel. [ 43 ]
Water is the medium of the oceans, the medium which carries all the substances and elements involved in the marine biogeochemical cycles. Water as found in nature almost always includes dissolved substances, so water has been described as the "universal solvent" for its ability to dissolve so many substances.
Lakes are net emitters of methane, and organic and inorganic carbon (dissolved and particulate) flow into the ocean through freshwater systems. In the ocean, methane can be released from thawing subsea permafrost, and CO 2 is absorbed due to an undersaturation of CO 2 in the water compared with the atmosphere.
The flow of energy in an ecosystem is an open system; the Sun constantly gives the planet energy in the form of light while it is eventually used and lost in the form of heat throughout the trophic levels of a food web. Carbon is used to make carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, the major sources of food energy. These compounds are oxidized to ...
The ocean biological pump is the ocean's biologically driven sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere and land runoff to the deep ocean interior and seafloor sediments. [79] The biological pump is not so much the result of a single process, but rather the sum of a number of processes each of which can influence biological pumping.
This water sinks down and brings the carbon into the deeper ocean levels, where it can stay for anywhere between decades and several centuries. [2] Ocean circulation events cause this process to be variable. For example, during El Nino events there is less deep ocean upwelling, leading to lower outgassing of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. [18]
Organisms capable of producing methane for energy conservation have been identified only from the domain Archaea, a group phylogenetically distinct from both eukaryotes and bacteria, although many live in close association with anaerobic bacteria. The production of methane is an important and widespread form of microbial metabolism.
The benthic layer is more efficient with low flow of methane, and efficiency decreases as methane flow or the speed of flow increases. [8] Oxygen demand for cold seep ecosystems is much higher than other benthic ecosystems, so if the bottom water does not have enough oxygen, then the efficiency of aerobic microbes in removing methane is reduced ...