Small animals with a big impact: how bioturbators counteract climate change.

In this project, we propose to determine how animals in the seafloor affect the production of alkalinity and thereby impact the ocean's ability to take up CO2 from the atmosphere.The goal of this project is to measure the alkalinity production in ponds with and without bioturbators, with the objective to determine the effect of bioturbation on the sedimentary alkalinity production. Commonly, geochemical effects of bioturbation are measured in sediment that has previously been defaunated, with impacts on the sediment chemistry. We will use salt marsh ponds as a natural laboratory, comparing permanently unbioturbated and bioturbated ponds, allowing a detailed investigation of the alkalinity generation. The results from this study will be important for marine management, to preserve the ecosystem service comprised of sedimentary alkalinity production and subsequent atmospheric CO2 removal.

Keywords:OCEAN ALKALINITY ENHANCEMENT, GEOCHEMISTRY, CLIMATE CHANGE

Disciplines:Chemical oceanography, Climate change