Marine phytoplankton is of great importance for climate regulation, contributing nearly 50% to global oxygen production and fixing atmospheric carbon dioxide. While numerous studies have investigated the impact of climate change on marine plankton, it is astonishing how little we know about the effects of phytoplankton dominance shifts on carbon burial and the emissions of CO2, methane and nitrous oxide.
In this project funded by the KONE Foundation, we use offshore measurements and state of the art mesocosm experiments to identify how the increasing dominance of dinoflagellate in spring and cyanobacteria in summer affect carbon cycling and greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.