Not trying to be a dick, but I figured Algae is still a carbon based life form… So I googled and it said: Uptake of CO2 by algae is approximately twice of the weight of algae.
But I assume other stuff is doing most of the heavy lifting… I think I remember something about coral forests, just trying to ask people who know more - what’s taking up all that carbon? Is algae a threat to it?
P.S looked it up, apparently seagrasses and mangroves absorbed the most carbon in the ocean, and Algae van risk sea grass by shading it too much… I still suspect they’re not totally at odds, because it didn’t say anything about being a direct threat, just making too much shade… Anyways. I’m sure others will comment.
EDIT: oh, maybe it’s that sea grass is more stable in its effects/consumption of carbon. Where as Algae patches probably float and fluctuate, or die off… But that probably fertilizes other stuff… I guess this is all why “sustainable” solutions are the focus…
It’s not just the uptake, it’s whether it stays at the surface, ultimately releasing the carbon back into the atmosphere via decomposition gases, or sinks to the ocean floor, thus locking up the carbon in oceanic rock.
We have a good handle on understanding the uptake. It’s the float vs sink part that has the critical uncertainty.
Not trying to be a dick, but I figured Algae is still a carbon based life form… So I googled and it said: Uptake of CO2 by algae is approximately twice of the weight of algae.
But I assume other stuff is doing most of the heavy lifting… I think I remember something about coral forests, just trying to ask people who know more - what’s taking up all that carbon? Is algae a threat to it?
P.S looked it up, apparently seagrasses and mangroves absorbed the most carbon in the ocean, and Algae van risk sea grass by shading it too much… I still suspect they’re not totally at odds, because it didn’t say anything about being a direct threat, just making too much shade… Anyways. I’m sure others will comment.
EDIT: oh, maybe it’s that sea grass is more stable in its effects/consumption of carbon. Where as Algae patches probably float and fluctuate, or die off… But that probably fertilizes other stuff… I guess this is all why “sustainable” solutions are the focus…
It’s not just the uptake, it’s whether it stays at the surface, ultimately releasing the carbon back into the atmosphere via decomposition gases, or sinks to the ocean floor, thus locking up the carbon in oceanic rock.
We have a good handle on understanding the uptake. It’s the float vs sink part that has the critical uncertainty.