Earth Sciences

Tracing the path of carbon export in the ocean though DNA sequencing of individual sinking particles

C. A. Durkin, I. Cetinić, et al.

This groundbreaking study by Colleen A. Durkin, Ivona Cetinić, Margaret Estapa, Zrinka Ljubešić, Maja Mucko, Aimee Neeley, and Melissa Omand explores how surface phytoplankton communities influence carbon export to the deep ocean. Through 18S rRNA gene sequencing, the researchers unveil the complex interactions between phytoplankton taxa and sinking particles, proposing a novel approach to enhance our understanding of the ocean's biological carbon pump and the carbon cycle.