Dr Simon Wright, Australian Antarctic Division
Project Leader, Ocean Control of Carbon Dioxide
simon.wright@aad.gov.au
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Project Overview This project is investigating how Southern Ocean phytoplankton and microbial communities will change as atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations increase. The research team is studying the likely changes in phytoplankton species and size distribution, in rates of uptake of CO2 through photosynthesis, and in the extent to which CO2 is recycled through the microbial loop or sedimented to the deep ocean. This knowledge is vital to predictions of the role of the Southern Ocean in absorbing and storing CO2 produced through human activity and so its role in influencing global carbon budgets. The results will also be important for developing ecosystem models that allow assessment of impacts of climate change on Antarctic marine ecosystems and provide advice for ecosystem-based management of Southern Ocean fisheries, particularly those regulated through the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Project Objectives - To characterise the effects of enhanced CO2 on key species, in particular the carbonate-producing coccolithophorids and key diatoms.
- To characterise effect of enhanced CO2 on taxonomic composition and cell size of microbial communities and the processes of photosynthesis, respiration, grazing and biologically-mediated sedimentation.
National Collaborators International Collaborators
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