"One of the planet’s most vital #CarbonSinks i.e. SOUTHERN OCEAN (SO) (absorbs ~40% of C) is revealing its secrets as tiny organisms in the SO play an outsized role in moderating Earth’s #climate."
Details from the recent research are discussed in a🧵⬇️ 1/8
"Based on 107 independent observations of the seasonal cycle from 63 #biogeochemical profiling floats, new study conducted by scientists from #NOAA & University of Hawai'i provide the basin-scale estimate of distinct biogenic #CarbonPool production at Southern Ocean." 2/8
Researchers find "significant meridional variability with enhanced #ParticulateOrganicCarbon production in the subantarctic & polar Antarctic sectors & enhanced #DissolvedOrganicCarbon production in the subtropical & sea-ice-dominated sectors." 3/8
"#ParticulateInorganicCarbon production peaks between 47°S and 57°S near the “great calcite belt.” Relative to an abiotic Southern Ocean (SO), organic C production enhances CO2 uptake by 2.80 ± 0.28 Pg C y−1, while PIC production reduces CO2 uptake by 0.27 ± 0.21 Pg C y−1." 4/8
"Without organic C production, the SO would be a CO2 source to the atm. The findings of this study emphasize the importance of #DOC & #PIC production, in addition to the well-recognized role of #POC production, in shaping the influence of C export on air–sea CO2 exchange." 5/8
IN SIMPLE WORDS ⬇️
🌊 "Researchers discovered that if the amount of #carbon produced by tiny organisms in Southern Ocean decreased by 30%, the Southern Ocean would release carbon dioxide instead of #absorbing it, which could worsen the #GreenhouseEffect on our planet." 6/8
Read the open-access paper entitled: "Biogenic carbon pool production maintains the Southern Ocean carbon sink" here ⬇️ pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pn…
🚨Solar Geoengineering (#SRM) may seem cheap (~$18B/yr) to cool the planet, but when you factor in societal risks, political instability & sudden climate rebounds, the true cost may far exceed technical estimates from both moral & practical standpoints, says a new study.
🧵1/11
2/ SRM often gets touted as cheap even “pennies per ton” compared to the hundreds of $/ton needed for large-scale CDR.
But these estimates usually ignore the real-world costs of deploying SRM in a politically fractured and climate-damaged world.
3/ The authors outline four cost domains that traditional SRM estimates often miss:
1️⃣ Compensation for harms
2️⃣ International coordination
3️⃣ Domestic political feasibility
4⃣ Termination Shock
Each could add major financial & political costs. Details below:
SeaO2, in collaboration with TU Delft, University of Twente, and NERA secured nearly $2M for a seawater-to-e-SAF project via TKI Energy and Industry program.
🚨Global talk on #SolarGeoengineering is heating up but Latin America’s barely in the room.
A new study analyzes the #MakeSunsets case in Mexico & shows why Latin America & the Caribbean need urgent, inclusive SRM governance to prevent risks & protect real research.🧵1/8
2/ With climate risks growing, solar radiation modification is gaining attention globally.
Yet in the Latin America & the Carribean (LAC) region, it's still a marginal topic, largely absent from political agendas, public debate, and regulatory systems.
3/ In 2023, a US-based startup called Make Sunsets released SO2 over Baja California without local approval, triggering outrage & prompting Mexico to ban SRM experiments.
The incident highlighted gaps in governance and ethical oversight.