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- Title
Global carbon cycle (communication arising): Metabolic balance of the open sea.
- Authors
Karl, David M.; Laws, Edward A.; Morris, Paul; Williams, Peter J. leB.; Emerson, Steven
- Abstract
The rise of oxygenic photosynthesis nearly three billion years ago led to the accumulation of free oxygen and to the subsequent diversification of life on Earth; today, nearly half of all oxygen production derives from the photosynthetic activities of marine phytoplankton. The conclusion that the open sea -- and therefore much of our planet's surface -- is in a net heterotrophic metabolic state is enigmatic and is a first-order question in the global carbon cycle, as discussed by del Giorgio and Duarte. Our findings suggest that autotrophy in the open sea is episodic and decoupled from the more constant heterotrophic processes. Consequently, the metabolic balance of the open sea depends on proper space and timescale integration to achieve an ecological understanding of life in the sea.
- Subjects
FREEDOM of the seas; CARBON cycle; METABOLISM
- Publication
Nature, 2003, Vol 426, Issue 6962, p32
- ISSN
0028-0836
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/426032a