Phytoplankton and other photosynthetic organisms play a crucial role in the Earth’s carbon cycle and global climate regulation. Researchers from the Biogeochemical Modelling group of GEOMAR have found reason to believe that phytoplankton and seawater nutrient ratios are not as strongly linked as marine scientists previously thought. As a result, phytoplankton nitrogen and phosphorus ratios will impact atmospheric carbon dioxide levels increasingly with time across the world, thus highlighting the importance of phytoplankton physiology in shaping climate conditions.
Click here to read the whole article by Chia-Te Chien, Markus Pahlow, Markus Schartau, Na Li, and Andreas Oschlies for Science Daily.