Global warming and the Oceans’ plankton

[vukcevic]

From WUWT
wattsupwiththat.com/2009/03/26/new-sun-watching-instrument-to-monitor-sunlight-fluctuations/#comment-106071

vukcevic (09:04:23) :

...This increase of the harmful UV radiation is causing reduction in bio-mass of the oceans’ surface phytoplankton, the largest absorber of CO2 on the Earth’s surface, either through direct destruction of its cells or process of sterilisation by irradiation.
Result of this is a reduced uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere and rising in the ‘green-house’ effect. There are already quantifiable evaluations of reduction in the efficiency of phytoplankton.


Mike Ramsey (17:37:08)

Maybe.
www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/0702_planktoncloud.html
It’s almost hard to believe, but new NASA-funded research confirms an old theory that plankton can indirectly create clouds that block some of the Sun’s harmful rays. The study was conducted by Dierdre Toole of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and David Siegel of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).
The study finds that in summer when the Sun beats down on the top layer of ocean where plankton live, harmful rays in the form of ultraviolet (UV) radiation bother the little plants. UV light also gives sunburn to humans.
When plankton are bothered, or stressed by UV light, their chemistry takes over.
The plankton try to protect themselves by producing a chemical compound called DMSP, which some scientists believe helps strengthen the plankton’s cell walls. This chemical gets broken down in the water by bacteria, and changes into another substance called DMS.
DMS then filters from the ocean into the air, where it breaks down again to form tiny dust-like particles. These tiny particles are just the right size for water to condense on, which is the beginning of how clouds are formed. So, indirectly, plankton help create more clouds, and more clouds mean that less direct light reaches the ocean surface. This relieves the stress put on plankton by the Sun’s harmful UV rays.”

vukcevic (02:03:37)

Thanks for that, absolutely fascinating. I assume that plankton ability to provide this defence mechanism at certain point reaches limit, above which further rise in UV would cause certain amount of damage to the plankton. This would mean that level of protection would be gradually reduced; result less cloud coverage, more UV, more damage to the plankton, reduced uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere and rising in the ‘green-house’ effect. Les cloud coverage would also mean higher global temperature. Now, if rise in UV is linked to the rise in solar activity then we have a link between level of solar activity and the global warming.
Does this make sense or is it a false logic?

[Maui]

There was an experiment to see if fertilization of the ocean would stimulate plankton growth. The idea was that the plankton would fix carbon, and end "global warming."

But the plankton that grew were simple algae that were easily eaten by other creatures. Due to a lack of silicon, the fertilizer did NOT stimulate growth of tough plankton that would die and sink to the bottom of the ocean, carrying the carbon with them.

[icefisher]

Apr 8, 2009 17:17:51 GMT Maui said:

There was an experiment to see if fertilization of the ocean would stimulate plankton growth. The idea was that the plankton would fix carbon, and end "global warming."

But the plankton that grew were simple algae that were easily eaten by other creatures. Due to a lack of silicon, the fertilizer did NOT stimulate growth of tough plankton that would die and sink to the bottom of the ocean, carrying the carbon with them.

Thats just a delay. The creatures eating the plankton either get eaten themselves or they die and take the carbon to the bottom with them. . . .even if it goes all the way to an ocean sewer outfall.

The only thing happening here is the invocation of the second dirtiest word to the enviro community (behind Climate Change) evil "MARICULTURE"