Carbon sink at South Pole has grown recently, historical collections reveal

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http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-02/cp-csa021611.php

Public release date: 21-Feb-2011

Contact: Elisabeth Lyons
[e-mail]
617-386-2121
http://www.cellpress.com/">Cell Press

Carbon sink at South Pole has grown recently, historical collections reveal

By studying collections of a marine bryozoan that date back to a famous 1901 expedition to the South Pole, researchers have found that those organisms were growing steadily up until 1990, when their growth more than doubled. The data, reported in the February 22 issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, provide the highest-latitude record of a century of growth and some of the first evidence that polar carbon sinks may be increasing.

The bryozoan in question, known as Cellarinella nutti, is a filter-feeding invertebrate that looks like branching twigs. C. nutti is found in abundance in the Antarctic and is ideal for such studies because it preserves a clear macroscopic environmental record in its skeleton, recorded as tree-ring-like growth-check lines.

"This is one of the few pieces of evidence that life in Antarctica has recently changed drastically," said David Barnes of the British Antarctic Survey. "These animals are taking more carbon dioxide out of circulation and locking it away on the seabed."

The more rapid growth of C. nutti reflects a coincident increase in the regional production of the phytoplankton that the bryozoan eats. Those algae rely on carbon dioxide dissolved into the seawater for their sustenance. The carbon in the algae is taken up by C. nutti, where it is incorporated into their skeleton and other tissues. As the animals grow, portions of it break off and are buried in the seabed. "Thus, the amount of carbon being buried on the seabed is increasing – whilst globally we are becoming more aware of the need to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere," Barnes said.

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1. Separation....

Please note that the distance between Ross Island and the South Pole is about 978 miles. Thus, the statement regarding the location of this carbon sink is analogous to a person saying that a newly appreciated carbon sink in Houston, TX is actually in Madison, WI.