Bacteria living more than 4,000 meters ( 2.5 miles ) below the surface of the Pacific Ocean are absorbing an estimated 10 per centum of the carbon dioxide that oceans remove from the atmosphere every year .
The squad " identify that benthal bacterium are take up large amounts of carbon dioxide and assimilating it into their biomass through an unknown procedure . This was completely unexpected , ” said bailiwick author Andrew Sweetman in astatement . " Their biomass then potentially becomes a nutrient source for other beast in the deep sea , so actually what we ’ve unwrap is a potential substitute food seed in the deepest parts of the ocean , where we think there was none . "
write inOceanography and Limnology , the researchers say benthic bacterium , rather than seafloor brute , could be the “ most significant organisms ” consuming organic wastefulness that float down towards the sea floor .
To try out the cellular mental process of benthic organism , the squad analyzed sediment samples taken from an area in the eastern Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico known as the Clarion - Clipperton Fracture Zone ( CCFZ ) , a deep - ocean ecosystem completely null of light but for flashes of bioluminescence and with a surprisingly biodiverse seabed environment . Bacteria here “ dominated the consumption ” of constituent wasteland over just one or two Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . When scale their results , that equates to about 200 million MT of carbon dioxide that could be fixed into biomass every year , making the region a potentially significant fixture in the deep - sea carbon paper cycle .
" We found the same activity at multiple study sites separated by 100 of kilometer , so we can reasonably assume this is materialise on the seabed in the eastern CCFZ and perchance across the entire CCFZ , ” said Sweetman .
arrogate the termination can be applied to the greater CCFZ , the generator say their findings could have implications for mineral extraction in this region .
" If minelaying go in the CCFZ , it will importantly disturb the seafloor surround , ” say Sweetman . “ Just four experiments alike to ours have been conducted in situ in the abyssal region of the oceans ; we need to eff much more about abyssal seafloor biology and ecology before we even consider mining the region . ”
