Yang et al. (2025): Seasonally migrating zooplankton strongly enhance Southern Ocean carbon sequestration
Guang Yang, Angus Atkinson, Evgeny A. Pakhomov, Katrin Schmidt, Weilei Wang, Jennifer J. Freer and Geraint A. Tarling, IN: Limnology and Oceanography, https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.70120
High-latitude zooplankton can sequester millions of tons of carbon due to their seasonal migration from the surface ocean to depth, and their respiration and mortality during overwintering. This seasonal vertical migration pump (SVMP) efficiently removes carbon but not limiting nutrients such as iron from the surface layers. However, this process is not included in Earth System Models and whole Southern Ocean estimates are still lacking. Here, the authors compile large datasets of Southern Ocean zooplankton biomass and physiology to estimate that the SVMP transports 65 Mt carbon annually to sequestration-achieving depths of > 500 m.