VERTIGO: Carbon Cycling in the Twilight Zone

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March 1, 2004

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists and their international colleagues will be at sea off Hawaii in June trying to learn more about the ocean’s ability to store atmospheric carbon dioxide. Its all part of a new two-year program called VERTIGO, VERtical Transport In the Global Ocean, to study the flux of sinking particles, which move carbon from the surface to the deep ocean where it is “stored” or sequestered. The results will help improve computer models of the ocean carbon cycle and forecasts of climate change. They will also help determine the value of controversial proposals to stimulate biological growth on the ocean’s surface to carry more of the atmospheric carbon into the deep ocean for storage to help reduce global warming. For more information go to VERTIGO.