Articles | Volume 15, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-15-875-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-15-875-2024
Research article
 | 
15 Jul 2024
Research article |  | 15 Jul 2024

A missing link in the carbon cycle: phytoplankton light absorption under RCP emission scenarios

Rémy Asselot, Philip B. Holden, Frank Lunkeit, and Inga Hense

Data sets

The RCP greenhouse gas concentrations and their extensions from 1765 to 2300 (https://www.pik-potsdam.de/~mmalte/rcps/) M. Meinshausen et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0156-z

Model code and software

crem33/EcoGENIE_LA: Asselotetal2021_ESD (Asselotetal2021_ESD) A. Ridgwell https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5676165

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Short summary
Phytoplankton are tiny oceanic algae able to absorb the light penetrating the ocean. The light absorbed by these organisms is re-emitted as heat in the surrounding environment, a process commonly called phytoplankton light absorption (PLA). As a consequence, PLA increases the oceanic temperature. We studied this mechanism with a climate model under different climate scenarios. We show that phytoplankton light absorption is reduced under strong warming scenarios, limiting oceanic warming.
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