A lesson in the art of catching snow Emma Cavan , January 23 , 2013
My work is slightly different to that of most of the team as I am investigating the secondary , not primary , effects of ocean acidification . I am here to catch snow , marine snow that is . One of the crew told me a few days ago he had dreamt of me running around on Monkey Island ( the highest point you can get to on the ship ) with a butterfly net catching snow . It took me a few moments to realize that he hadn ’ t had some weird dream about me but that actually he thought this is what I did ; to his disappointment my role is far less glamorous .
1 . Crew members Ian and Frankie and myself posing with the snow catcher . 2 . Attaching the release to the snow catcher whilst it ’ s over the side of the ship 3 . Holding the wire to feel when the messenger has hit the release , 175m below @ Emma Cavan
I am here to measure the amount of carbon sinking out the surface layer of the ocean . Basically dead phytoplankton or zooplankton poo . I am frequently asked how much poo I have found that day . And no I do not go looking in toilets for it ! Phytoplankton photosynthesis in the surface layer of the ocean , absorbing carbon as they do so , turning it into an organic form . Eventually , the organic carbon sinks out of this surface layer as detrital phytoplankton aggregates or zooplankton poo ( or feacal pellets as there are known scientifically ). By collecting this sinking stuff in the ocean I can measure the amount of organic carbon sinking from the surface . A small amount reaches the deep ocean and this carbon can become sequestered and remain in the deep for hundreds or thousands of years . The rest is recycled and returned to the surface . Hence , why it is important to understand how much carbon is reaching the deep , how much is being recycled and
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