What would happen to CO2 levels if all ocean life vanished? Study says a 50% jump

A new study from Norway's NORCE and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research used the Norwegian Earth System Model to simulate a world without marine life. The result: atmospheric CO2 would rise by roughly 50%. The research, published in Nature Communications, shows that the biological carbon pump where plankton consume carbon near the surface and sink it to the depths is far more important than previously understood. Without it, the ocean loses much of its ability to absorb emissions, and land ecosystems can only compensate for about half of the lost capacity. The study challenges the old assumption that ocean carbon absorption is mostly a physical and chemical process. Lead author Jerry Tjiputra notes that most past work ignored the interaction between marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The findings suggest that protecting ocean life is not just about biodiversity. It directly affects how fast the atmosphere warms and whether the Paris Agreement targets remain reachable. A healthy ocean buys time for decarbonization. A degraded one speeds up warming.