Scientists are experimenting with an unconventional source to trap the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide: zooplankton poop.
Earth needs more carbon sinks. As the planet warms, many of the places that trap CO2 are now releasing it into the atmosphere, rather than holding onto it. Trees are burning, permafrost is melting, and parts of the ocean are acidifying.
Those factors, combined with emissions remaining stubbornly high, despite many non-binding agreements to reduce them, prompted Mukul Sharma, a Dartmouth University geoscientist, to look for alternatives. He and colleagues propose a novel approach that involves zooplankton poop in a Nature report.
Many groups are proposing carbon extraction exercises as well. But many approaches — like building machines to suck CO2 out of the atmosphere, then trap it — have several flaws, he says. They are expensive, often require energy, and seem difficult to scale up.
Large patches of phytoplankton — which, like algae, ...
