Tiny cyanobacteria may be the secret heroes of ocean carbon sequestration

A process known as the biological carbon pump (BCP) moves organic carbon from near the ocean's surface to the ocean floor. That carbon often stays there for hundreds or thousands of years, making the BCP a primary source of carbon sequestration in the oceans. Scientists have thought that relatively large phytoplankton are more efficient at exporting carbon to the deep ocean than tiny cyanobacteria, but new research by Jingjing Zhang and colleagues published in AGU Advances now calls that belief into question.