A small, deep example of the old saying that all things are connected:
“Krill defecation at depth reduces carbon flux attenuation in the Weddell Sea euphotic zone,” Florence Sarah Atherden, Emily Rowlands, Gareth Flint, Sophie Fielding, Katrin Schmidt, Elaine Fileman, Angus Atkinson, and Clara Manno, prerint egusphere-2026-988, 2026. (Thanks to Bieito Fernandez Castro for bringing this to our attention.)
The authors, at British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK; the University of Plymouth, UK; and Plymouth Marine Laboratory, report:
The Southern Ocean influences global climate, in part, through biological production of carbon-rich particles which trap atmospheric carbon in the deep ocean. Our study highlights that krill migrating to 50-100 m and defecting carbon-rich pellets effectively counteracts the ‘typical’ scenario where the quantity of particles rapidly decreases from the surface, ultimately increasing how much atmospheric carbon is stored. These processes are of global benefit, but vulnerable in a changing climate.