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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