Researchers have discovered that dense microbial colonies living within marine snow are dissolving calcite shells. This process releases carbon dioxide back into the water, potentially reducing the ocean's natural ability to store atmospheric carbon.
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Interesting look at the biological side of carbon sequestration. Most of the talk is about industrial capture, but these microbial cities show how fragile the natural ocean sink actually is.
This is why carbon accounting for blue carbon is so difficult. If microbes are dissolving the shells before they hit the floor, the actual sequestration rate is lower than the surface data suggests.
The scale here is wild. A shot glass of water having millions of cells explains why a small change in microbial behavior can shift global climate numbers.
