குழந்தைகளும் காலநிலை பிறழ்வும்

A carbon sink is a natural or artificial reservoir that absorbs and stores the atmosphere’s carbon with physical and biological mechanisms. Organic matter, Coal, oil, natural gases, methane hydrate and limestone are all examples of carbon sinks.

Ocean carbon pump is composed of two compartments: a biological pump which transfers surface carbon towards the seabed via the food web and the physical pump.

Cold water stores CO2 more easily because low temperatures facilitate atmospheric CO2 dissolution. It is estimated that the ocean concentrates 50 times more carbon than the atmosphere.

The biological pump is the food chain of ocean. All organic materials produced by plankton to blue whale reach the sea bed as organic carbon. Marine organisms that make coral reefs and shells take the dissolved carbon from sea water and combine it with calcium to make calcium carbonate, subtracting carbon from the natural cycle. This way carbon can then be stored in the Deep Sea for long geological periods.

Healthy coastal ecosystems like mangroves, seagrass beds and salt marshes are significant carbon sinks and they store at least ten times more carbon than continental forests.

However, these coastal ecosystems cover little surface on a global planet scale and these ecosystems are weakened by coastal urbanization and coastal economic activities.

Because of the increase in greenhouse gas concentration, the water temperature and acidity of the oceans are changing. This modifies physical, chemical and biological equilibriums and affects the bilogical ocean pump easily and reduces carbon storing capacity of ocean.

The physical pump not easily disturbed but once disturbed, it will emit carbon continuosly. Increasing deep sea temperature in polar regions are affecting the deep sea storage of carbon.