ST. PETERSBURG, January 27. /TASS/. Specialists of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI, St. Petersburg) jointly with scientists from other countries presented results of a decade-long study of the climate change in the Arctic Ocean. The scientists found that the processes, which continue in the Arctic, may drop the share of carbon dioxide gas (CO2) in the atmosphere, the institute's press service said.
"AARI's scientists, participating in an international scientific team, have published results of a large-scale study of processes in the Arctic Ocean waters. According to the obtained data, the shrinking areas of long-term ice in the Arctic can lead to the growth of microscopic algae and to more active absorption of atmospheric carbon," the press service said.
The international team for almost ten years was analyzing the changing amounts of biogenic substances and the mixing of waters in the Siberian shelf seas. They also studied how these processes influence climate change in the region. The study's results have shown that summer sea ice decline in the Arctic significantly affected the growth of microscopic algae in the Arctic Ocean seas. Climate change leads to a potential increase in the volume of nutrients in the water column's surface zone.
Having analyzed the obtained data, the scientists came to the conclusion that in the near future the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere in the Arctic may reduce, since the vital activity of a growing population of microscopic algae can lead to a more active absorption of organic carbon that these organisms consume. Additional observations and studies will help scientists to understand fully the dynamics of nutrient transport in the Arctic.
Results of the study, conducted by the international team, have been published in the Geophysical Research Letters, a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal, published by the American Geophysical Union that was established in 1974.