Guest guest Posted July 25, 2006 Report Share Posted July 25, 2006 Oceans Carbon Sink or Source press-release Tue, 25 Jul 2006 13:17:59 +0100 The Institute of Science in Society Science Society Sustainability http://www.i-sis.org.uk This article can be found on the I-SIS website at http://www.i-sis.org.uk/OceanCarbonSink.php ======================================================== ISIS Press Release 25/07/06 Oceans Carbon Sink or Source ************************* Do oceans remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or contribute to it? The answer is crucial for climate change. Dr. Mae-Wan Ho NASA's ocean watch NASA's SeaWiFS project (Sea-viewing Wide Field-of View Sensor)(SeaWiFS) has been watching the oceans twenty-four hours a day every day since September 1997 [1]. It provides quantitative data on the biological state of the global oceans through remote colour sensing. The colour in most of the world's oceans varies with the concentration of chlorophyll and other plant pigments contained in the phytoplankton, the greater the concentration of plant pigments, the greener the water. As an orbiting sensor can view every square kilometre of cloud-free ocean every 48 hours, satellite-acquired ocean colour data are valuable for determining the abundance of ocean life and to assess the ocean's role in climate change. One big question the SeaWiFS project wants to answer is whether the oceans are a carbon source that adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, or a carbon sink that removes it from the atmosphere, which is crucial to monitoring climate change and taking appropriate action Read the rest of this article here http://www.i-sis.org.uk/OceanCarbonSink.php This is the third in an eight part ISIS series on the oceans. The rest will be released over the next two weeks Titles of circulated articles include: Oceans In Distress http://www.i-sis.org.uk/OceansInDistress.php Oceans and Global Warming http://www.i-sis.org.uk/OceansGlobalWarming.php Titles of upcoming articles include: Acid Oceans Abrupt Plankton Shifts Plankton and Global Warming; Snuffing Out the Green Fuse The Blue Revolution; Air Conditioning and Energy From Deep Water Or read other articles in the global warming section of the Institute of Science in Society Website http://www.i-sis.org.uk/climateglobalwarming.php ======================================================== This article can be found on the I-SIS website at http://www.i-sis.org.uk/OceanCarbonSink.php If you like this original article from the Institute of Science in Society, and would like to continue receiving articles of this calibre, please consider making a donation or purchase on our website http://www.i-sis.org.uk/donations. ISIS is an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to providing critical public information on cutting edge science, and to promoting social accountability and ecological sustainability in science. ======================================================== CONTACT DETAILS The Institute of Science in Society, PO Box 51885, London NW2 9DH telephone: [44 20 8452 2729] [44 20 7272 5636] Foe email details, see http://www.i-sis.org.uk/contact.php MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM WITHOUT EXPLICIT PERMISSION. FOR PERMISSION, PLEASE CONTACT ISIS at http://www.i-sis.org.uk/contact2.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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