Species differences in carbon drawdown during marine phytoplankton growth

• Published in: Marine pollution bulletin 2024-11, Vol.208, p.117021, Article 117021
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yafeng, Wang, Siru, Gou, Bin, Wang, Qiabin, Hou, Minchi, Wang, Xutao, Yin, Kedong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carbon drawdown; Marine phytoplankton; Ocean alkalinity enhancement; Species differences
• ISSN: 0025-326X; 1879-3363; 1879-3363
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117021

Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) has been proposed as a mitigation method for negative carbon emission. Its effects on marine phytoplankton communities would depend on species differences in tolerance to high pH, which results from phytoplankton photosynthetic drawdown of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). In this study, 20 marine phytoplankton species were grown in sealed batch cultures and DIC, pH and chlorophyll a (Chl-a) were measured at the peaks of biomass. These results revealed a wide range of species differences. The drawdown DIC (ΔDIC) vs. increases in pH (ΔpH) graph resembled a Michaelis-Menten curve: significantly linear for ΔDIC  1000 μM. This indicated that two mechanisms were operating: CO2 limitation at ΔpH  1.41. These findings suggest that the potential effects of OAE on the phytoplankton communities would depend on the species differences in oceans. •Species differences in carbon drawdown exist among marine phytoplankton species.•Phytoplankton species which can utilize > 1000 μM DIC may thrive under OAE.•Effects of OAE on phytoplankton communities depend on species differences in oceans.