• Question: How do they influence carbon in ocean sediments

    Asked by ozguyatcom22 to Carol on 28 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Carol White

      Carol White answered on 28 Jun 2012:

      If you mean the seafloor animals, it’s because they stop carbon being locked away (or buried) in sediments. They can do this in a few ways:
      – eating organic materials on the sea floor that are full of carbon (like dead tree matter)
      – irrigating the sediments, so “flushing” the sediments with water to get the carbon out again
      – burrowing into the sediments and digging it back up
      – interacting with microbes and bacteria that are very efficient at getting at carbon

      I wish I could put a photo or a diagram here, because it’s so much better in pictures!

Comments