Study reveals for the first time the lipidome composition of mesoscale eddies and their precise role in nutrient transport and the carbon cycle.
Study reveals for the first time the lipidome composition of mesoscale eddies and their precise role in nutrient transport and the carbon cycle.
How is organic matter transported from productive coastal areas to the open ocean? Researchers from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and MARUM - Centre for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen have now shown that eddies play a crucial role in this process. The swirling currents contain large amounts of energy-rich and essential fat molecules (essential lipids), which play a key role in marine food webs and the carbon cycle. The study has now been published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment.
Mesoscale eddies, oceanic swirling currents with typical horizontal scales of 10-100 kilometres in diameter, are ubiquitous features of the global ocean and play a vital role in marine ecosystems. Eddies, which form in biologically productive coastal upwelling regions, are important vehicles for the transport of carbon and nutrients. These eddies trap water masses and migrate into the open ocean, where productivity is comparatively low. As such, they have a significant influence on the nutrient and carbon cycles within the ocean.
For decades, marine scientists have sought to understand in detail how coastal waters are transported offshore and how this process affects productivity in the open ocean, especially as eddy activity is expected to change significantly due to climate change.
Read more at Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR)
