NOC news round-up 13/01/17

NOC responds to tidal lagoon review NOC scientist Dr Judith Wolf, who is currently engaged in a project investigating proposed tidal lagoons at Colwyn Bay and North Wirral, responded to the Hendry review this week by saying "Although there are still obstacles in terms of costs and environmental impacts, this review recognises that tidal lagoons could play an important role in the UK renewable energy mix." A preliminary study from the ARCoES project shows that tidal lagoons and barrages do have the potential to offer flood risk benefit and become part of integrated strategies to minimise flood risk in coastal areas. However, Judith points out that "each site is specific and detailed modelling studies are required. The benefits of tidal lagoons are dependent on their shape, size and location, and feasibility studies should consider impacts in the near and far-field." How do Zooplankton get their nutrition? Marine microalgae help regulate global climate by converting CO2 into sinking particles of detritus. The deeper these sink, the longer the constituent carbon remains locked away from the atmosphere. Tiny marine animals (zooplankton) in the dimly-lit waters of the twilight zone (~100 – 1000 m from the surface) act against this process by eating detritus and converting it back into CO2. Understanding the global carbon cycle therefore requires knowledge of how zooplankton interact with detritus. A new study by NOC scientists, as part of the COMICS project, suggests that these animals satisfy their nutritional demands by consuming detritus-attached microorganisms, rather than the detritus itself. Click here for the open-access download. How much does the carbon pump cost? Biological uptake of CO2 by the ocean is an "ecosystem service" supplied by the Earth system, but is expected to decrease into the future. Researchers at the NOC and PML used two different models of marine biology to estimate the economic costs of disruption to this service. Their analysis finds both that adaptation (reactively responding) is less costly than mitigating (proactively avoiding), and that the costs associated with the open ocean are comparable to those of coastal habitats. The latter highlights an unrecognised economic importance of the open ocean. To download a pdf of the paper please click here   This email was sent using GovDelivery, on behalf of: National Oceanography Centre · Waterfront Campus · European Way · Southampton · SO14 3ZH · United Kingdom