In recent years researchers and developers have spent a lot of time looking for ways to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and try to confine it to the ground. But we have forgotten the most basic, which is observe your own nature.
And it is that, it seems that not, but it has its own mechanisms to clean the planet. One of his tireless 'workers' is the antarctic krill. A crustacean that does not measure more than 3-4 centimeters.
Antarctic krill, whose scientific name is Euphausia superba, is the unexpected ally of human beings in their fight against the devastating effects of climate change, according to a study published in the scientific journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society B'. It appears to accelerate the transport of carbon dioxide to the deep ocean.
Feeding on phytoplankton, that is, on plankton organisms that carry out photosynthesis, what they do is stay close to the surface to capture said microscopic algae, and when they finish they descend to the depths several times during the night, depositing their feces there. . This migration and subsequent deposition of waste removes an amount of carbon equivalent to the UK's annual greenhouse gas emissions. (In 2015, they emitted 495,7 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere).
Image - Oceanacidificaction.org.uk
Although it is not the first study to explain this amazing behavior, it is the first time that scientists have observed the same results in the open ocean, so that, once again, the importance of the oceans to store carbon dioxide is revealed. carbon. However, neither can we forget the effects that this gas has on the waters.
And, the pH of the oceans is dropping, which inevitably affects all animals with shells, as well as corals and marine fauna. You have more information here.