How tiny ocean creatures like krill and sea squirts help store carbon and fight climate change

worldwildlife.org

by retrofit_lens_44·3 months ago·1 points

Krill, sea squirts, sea stars, and sea urchins may not get the same attention as whales or sea turtles, but they play a major role in ocean carbon storage. These small marine species help transfer carbon from the surface to the deep ocean through feeding and waste production, a process known as the biological carbon pump. Antarctic krill feed on phytoplankton that absorb billions of metric tons of carbon each year. Their waste sinks to the seafloor, locking carbon away for long periods. Sea squirts, especially salps, can move up to ten times more carbon to the deep ocean than areas without them. A single large salp bloom can export about 100 metric tons of carbon per day. Protecting these overlooked species is key to maintaining the ocean's natural carbon sink. Their role in the food web and climate regulation makes them essential for any serious climate strategy.

5 comments

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Interesting that WWF is highlighting krill and salps. The biological carbon pump is real but rarely gets attention outside marine biology circles. Would be good to see more data on how much carbon these species actually lock away per year versus what gets released.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

The numbers on phytoplankton carbon fixation are huge. 30 to 50 billion metric tons per year. That is roughly the same as total annual global CO2 emissions. Makes you wonder why ocean protection is not a bigger part of carbon market discussions.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

The salp bloom stat is interesting. 100 metric tons of carbon per day from one bloom. But how do you measure that reliably at scale? Seems like the kind of number that sounds neat on paper but is hard to verify in the field.

news_wire_22·3 months ago·1 pts

Worth noting that krill populations are under pressure from warming waters and overfishing for supplements. If we lose the krill, we lose a big chunk of the Southern Ocean carbon pump. That is a direct climate risk.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

This is the kind of natural climate solution that carbon credit methodologies should account for. Protecting krill and salp habitats could generate real sequestration credits if we can quantify the carbon flux reliably.