The Antarctic Silicon Trap
The Southern Ocean, the ocean encircling Antarctica, has been described by explorers as cold, empty, and dangerous. Despite this, it is a paradise for tiny algae called diatoms that are crucial players in the regulation of our climate. Why are these tiny organisms so happy in this cold and far away...
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2023
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frym.2023.1180915 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2023.1180915/full |
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crfrontiers:10.3389/frym.2023.1180915 2024-02-11T09:57:43+01:00 The Antarctic Silicon Trap Closset, Ivia Cassarino, Lucie 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frym.2023.1180915 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2023.1180915/full unknown Frontiers Media SA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Frontiers for Young Minds volume 11 ISSN 2296-6846 General Medicine journal-article 2023 crfrontiers https://doi.org/10.3389/frym.2023.1180915 2024-01-26T10:06:41Z The Southern Ocean, the ocean encircling Antarctica, has been described by explorers as cold, empty, and dangerous. Despite this, it is a paradise for tiny algae called diatoms that are crucial players in the regulation of our climate. Why are these tiny organisms so happy in this cold and far away ocean? Diatoms have a solid shell made of a glass-like material called silica, so they need to find silicon in surface waters to build it. The Southern Ocean is the perfect place for diatoms because it is full of silicon compared to the other oceans. This is due to a special phenomenon called the silicon pump, which makes the Southern Ocean a giant trap for silicon. In this article, we point out the central role of the Southern Ocean in the regulation of Earth’s climate and how it controls the distribution of silicon and the wellbeing of diatoms in Antarctic waters. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Southern Ocean Frontiers (Publisher) Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Frontiers for Young Minds 11 |
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General Medicine |
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General Medicine Closset, Ivia Cassarino, Lucie The Antarctic Silicon Trap |
topic_facet |
General Medicine |
description |
The Southern Ocean, the ocean encircling Antarctica, has been described by explorers as cold, empty, and dangerous. Despite this, it is a paradise for tiny algae called diatoms that are crucial players in the regulation of our climate. Why are these tiny organisms so happy in this cold and far away ocean? Diatoms have a solid shell made of a glass-like material called silica, so they need to find silicon in surface waters to build it. The Southern Ocean is the perfect place for diatoms because it is full of silicon compared to the other oceans. This is due to a special phenomenon called the silicon pump, which makes the Southern Ocean a giant trap for silicon. In this article, we point out the central role of the Southern Ocean in the regulation of Earth’s climate and how it controls the distribution of silicon and the wellbeing of diatoms in Antarctic waters. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Closset, Ivia Cassarino, Lucie |
author_facet |
Closset, Ivia Cassarino, Lucie |
author_sort |
Closset, Ivia |
title |
The Antarctic Silicon Trap |
title_short |
The Antarctic Silicon Trap |
title_full |
The Antarctic Silicon Trap |
title_fullStr |
The Antarctic Silicon Trap |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Antarctic Silicon Trap |
title_sort |
antarctic silicon trap |
publisher |
Frontiers Media SA |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frym.2023.1180915 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2023.1180915/full |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Southern Ocean |
op_source |
Frontiers for Young Minds volume 11 ISSN 2296-6846 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/frym.2023.1180915 |
container_title |
Frontiers for Young Minds |
container_volume |
11 |
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1790593262084423680 |