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Posted Sun May 8 2011: from
PNAS:
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Tracking single coccolith dissolution with picogram resolution and implications for CO2 sequestration and ocean acidification http://apocadocs.com/s.pl?1304863410
Currently, coccoliths serve as an important sink in the global carbon cycle, but decreasing ocean pH challenges their stability....
Even after 60 million years, the fossil coccolith crystals are still tiny..., compared with inorganically produced calcite, where one day old crystals can be 10 times larger, which raises the question if the biogenic nature of coccolith calcite gives it different properties than inorganic calcite? And if so, can these properties protect coccoliths in CO2 challenged oceans? Here we describe a new method for tracking dissolution of individual specimens, at picogram (10-12 g) resolution. The results show that the behavior of modern and fossil coccoliths is similar and both are more stable than inorganic calcite. Organic material associated with the biogenic calcite provides the explanation. However, ancient and modern coccoliths, that resist dissolution in Ca-free artificial seawater at pH > 8, all dissolve when pH is 7.8 or lower. Ocean pH is predicted to fall below 7.8 by the year 2100, in response to rising CO2 levels. Our results imply that at these conditions the advantages offered by the biogenic nature of calcite will disappear putting coccoliths on algae and in the calcareous bottom sediments at risk.
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[Read more stories about:
ocean acidification, carbon emissions]
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'Doc Michael says:
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Denier translation: the human-produced CO2 that's not causing global warming is also not causing the ocean to go acidic, and therefore poses no threat to the base of the ocean food chain, nor to the ocean's ability to absorb CO2.
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It's simple! Just add "not" to anything!
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