Originally from Haripal in Hooghly district, but for the last 15 years Dr Haimanti Biswas is serving as the principal scientist of Biological Oceanography Division, Dona Paula at Goa.
Study Unravels Pathway Used by Diatoms for Removing CO2 from Atmosphere
Diatoms are small unicellular plants that do not grow bigger than half a millimeter. These plants
populate the surface water of the world’s oceans where penetration of sunlight is abundant.
Image Credit: Diana Will/Shutterstock.com
In spite of having a modest size, the diatoms are considered as one of the strongest resources in the world for carbon dioxide (CO
2) removal from the air. Now, they eliminate, or “fix,” 10 to 20 billion metric tons of CO
2 annually with the help of photosynthesis.
However, there is not much knowledge gained regarding which biological mechanisms are used by the diatoms, and if these processes may turn out to be less effective with increasing temperatures, ocean acidity, and especially CO
Tiny ocean plants called diatoms use a single carbon capture pathway
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Diatoms rely on one main pathway for capturing and concentrating CO2, according to a new study. Photo by Wikimedia Commons
May 3 (UPI) The world s smallest plants, single-cell organisms called diatoms, provide exceptional carbon capture services, according to researchers.
According to a new study, published Monday in the journal Frontiers in Plant Sciences, diatoms mostly use a single cellular pathway to capture and concentrate CO2.
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Every year, diatoms floating near the surface of the ocean capture 10 to 20 billion metric tons of CO2 via photosynthesis. Until now, scientists weren t sure how the unicellular plants concentrated CO2 so efficiently.
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Diatoms are tiny unicellular plants no bigger than half a millimeter which inhabit the surface water of the world s oceans where sunlight penetration is plenty. Despite their modest size, they are one of the world s most powerful resources for removing carbon dioxide (CO
2) from the atmosphere. They currently remove, or fix, 10-20 billion metric tons of CO
2 every year by the process of photosynthesis. But not much is known about which biological mechanisms diatoms use, and whether these processes might become less effective with rising ocean acidity, temperatures, and, in particular, CO
2 concentrations. A new study in