Microbial carbon pumps could aid in fight against climate change

Economist : A group of oceanic microorganisms may hold the key to fighting climate change, according to Jiao Nianzhi of Xiamen University in China and his colleagues. Jiao and his team note that carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean through photosynthesis by planktonic algae, which lie at the bottom of the food chain. The algae are consumed by tiny animals, which are in turn consumed by larger ones. Eventually this organic matter makes its way to the ubiquitous aerobic anoxygenic photoheterotrophic bacteria (AAPB), which convert the carbon contained in it into a compound that cannot be turned back into carbon dioxide. Thus, the AAPB build up a reservoir of carbon in the ocean and keep it out of the atmosphere. The researchers are looking into encouraging the growth of planktonic algae, and hence AAPB, in order to take advantage of this microbial carbon pump that could potentially be used to combat climate change by extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.