Page path:

Marine Carbon Cycle

deciphering & bilancing

Through the direct exchange of gases at the sea surface, the marine carbon cycle plays a central role in the climate system. Greenhouse gases (especially carbon dioxide CO2) can be absorbed by the ocean from the atmosphere as well as released into it. The marine carbon cycle is one of the factors that determine the direction of this exchange.

The aim of the researchers at MARUM is to gain a better understanding of the various core processes of the marine carbon cycle. The marine carbon cycle describes the occurrence and reservoirs of carbon compounds in the oceans, as well as the associated biological and abiotic processes.This includes the primary incorporation of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) into photosynthesizing biomass (algae), as well as the transport and decomposition of organic material on and in the seafloor.

Typical questions are:

  • Where do organisms get the energy to maintain their metabolism?
  • Which symbioses and exchange processes play a role?
  • Under which extreme pressure and temperature conditions is life still possible?

In order to successfully answer these and many other questions, MARUM has excellent and extensive equipment and facilities.



Participating Research Groups
Aggregate of marine snow. Photo: MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen; M. H. Iversen)

left: sinking organic particles; right: sketch of the marine carbon cycle

Selection of current research projects

Blasentang

C-Quest

Dicover molecular pathway for glyco-carbon sequestration

(ERC Consolidator Grant)

+
NOAA

sea4society

Innovative approaches to improve the carbon storage potential of coastal vegetation ecosystems

(DAM Research Mission)

+
Photo Volker Diekamp MARUM

Archean Park

Relics of ancient cellular biogeochemistry in an underground ecosystem with high CO2 content

(ERC Synergy Grant)

+

Current news

Showing 81-84 of 89 items.
Pyrite weathering produces iron-rich acidic water in the Rio Tinto, Spain. When sea level drops during glacials, the coastlines move seaward and more than 20 million square kilometers of potentially pyrite-bearing shelf sediments are drained. During glaci

Oct 14, 2019

The shelf life of pyrite

 

The last 2.6 million years are characterized by glacial cycles, a regular alternation of cold and warm periods. It is widely accepted that changes in ...

+