"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…
🚨Direct air capture (#DAC) using amine-based sorbents is one of the "most promising ways" to remove CO₂, but a core challenge remains: the materials degrade over time, raising costs and limiting scale.
A new study examines why that happens and how to fix it.🧵1/12
2/ Degradation here means any chemical or physical change that reduces CO₂ uptake or increases energy needed for regeneration.
Over time, even small losses compound, turning a promising material into a costly bottleneck.
3/ The paper highlights that degradation is not a single process.
It emerges from a combination of oxidative, thermal, and environmental pathways, each interacting with the sorbent’s molecular structure in different ways.
🚨New research from WashU shows that diamond dust, long proposed as an ideal solar geoengineering (#SRM) material for #SAI, may lose much of its cooling potential when real-world chemistry & manufacturing constraints are taken into account.
DETAILS🧵1/11
2/ Solar geoengineering, particularly stratospheric aerosol injection (#SAI), seeks to mimic volcanic cooling by dispersing reflective particles into the upper atmosphere, reducing incoming solar radiation and temporarily offsetting warming.
3/ Sulfate aerosols (from volcano-like approaches) can cool the planet, but they come with risks: acid rain, ozone damage, and health impacts.
🚨Where should Direct Air Capture (#DAC) be deployed to scale carbon removal?
New research shows: costs are driven less by the technology itself and more by location, climate, and energy systems, making DAC a fundamentally geo-dependent solution.
Details🧵1/10
2/ DAC needs to scale to 0.5–5 GtCO₂/year by 2050, yet current capacity is ~0.00004 Gt.
Scaling requires massive cost reductions, and smart siting.
3/ The study evaluates two leading approaches:
• Solid sorbent DAC (S-DAC)
• Liquid solvent DAC (L-DAC)
Using global, high-resolution data on weather and renewable energy availability.
New study suggests that during the Emeishan supervolcanic eruptions (~260M yrs ago), enhanced weathering of uplifted rocks removed huge amounts of atm CO₂, cutting levels nearly in half.
How?🧵1/11
2/ Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are among the largest volcanic events in Earth’s history, typically releasing huge volumes of lava over 1-5 million years.
They’re widely thought to drive CO₂ spikes, warming, and environmental crises through massive volcanic degassing.
3/ To test this assumption, researchers reconstructed atmospheric CO₂ levels across the Emeishan volcanic episode using carbon isotopes from chlorophyll-derived biomarkers preserved in marine sediments from the Shangsi section in China.
🚨How much does the shape of particles matter for #SolarGeoengineering?
A new study tests whether non-spherical particles could improve the cooling efficiency of #SAI.
The result: shape can help slightly, but particle size & refractive index dominate the cooling effect.🧵1/11
2/ SAI aims to cool Earth by injecting particles into the lower stratosphere that scatter incoming sunlight back to space, increasing planetary reflectivity (albedo).
The effectiveness of these particles depends on their optical properties, how they scatter and absorb sunlight.
3/ Most previous studies optimized SAI particles assuming they're perfect spheres, focusing on 2 parameters: particle radius & refractive index.
But real particles in the atm are often irregular or elongated, raising an imp Q: could particle shape improve solar reflection?
1️⃣ Solar geoengineering governance platform - A new SGRG initiative will develop transparency tools, disclosure systems and a research governance charter as SRM studies expand.
2️⃣ AMOC tipping warning & role of SRM - Nordic Council report highlights risks of an Atlantic circulation collapse and urges stronger monitoring and expanded research into climate intervention alongside emissions cuts.