Oceanography
G. Jacques, M. Panouse, "Biomass and composition of size fractionated phytoplankton in the Weddell-Scotia Confluence area," Polar Biology, 11:315-28, 1991.
Guy Jacques (Observatoire Ocean-ologique, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France): "One of the most debated questions among oceanographers today revolves around the determination of whether the Southern Ocean was, is, and will be a source or a sink for CO2--a very important question for those trying to understand our climate. Surprisingly, an answer may come from physiological and biochemical studies of the microscopic plankton living in the upper layer of the ocean. Atmospheric CO2 is `pumped' by this plankton to be transformed into organic carbon, the fate of which is closely related to the size of the organisms.
"Our study in the Weddell Sea has shown that, in a few hours, an ecosystem dominated by large, productive diatoms (10 to 100 microns in size) was able to switch toward a system dominated by ...
