Environment
Sticky marine snow carries six times more carbon to the ocean floor
Ten gigatons of carbon leave the ocean surface each year inside clumps of biological debris known as marine snow, yet only two gigatons reach deep waters for long-term storage. A study published in Science by researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of Lincoln explains this gap: gooey, highly viscous particles resist bacterial decay and deliver six times more carbon to the deep sea than thinner material.
