Ocean's "twilight zone" may be a key to understanding climate change

[Wien Ee]

A study sheds new light on the role of carbon dioxide once it's transported to the oceans' depths. The research indicates that instead of sinking, carbon dioxide is often consumed by animals and bacteria and recycled in the "twilight zone," a dimly lit area 100 to 1,000 meters below the surface. Because a fraction of the carbon never reaches the deep ocean, where it can be stored and prevented from re-entering the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas, knowing how much and what controls the flux of sinking carbon through the twilight zone is key to understanding the oceans' role in controlling atmospheric carbon dioxide and hence climate.


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