A recent study by Polish physicists reveals that existing models estimating how often sinking ocean particles collide can miss the true collision rate by up to 100 times. This discrepancy significantly affects calculations of how much carbon the ocean sequesters, crucial for climate models.
Marine snow, composed of phytoplankton remnants, descends through the ocean and can store carbon for centuries via biological carbon pumps. However, most of it gets consumed by microorganisms in the upper ocean. The new research combines two competing collision models—one based on Brownian motion and the other on the interactions of faster-sinking flakes with slower particles—into a singular formula.
This new approach shows that collisions between particles occur far more frequently than previously estimated. The findings indicate that models relying on older methods could be underestimating how quickly marine snow deteriorates or sinks, impacting our understanding of carbon capture in the oceans. The study highlights the need for updated models that better reflect the complex interactions in marine environments.
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