Anthropogenic impacts on particulate organic carbon cycling in the North Sea
The aim of APOC is to investigate the transport and accumulation of particulate organic carbon within the North Sea and how anthropogenic activities might alter the potential for carbon sequestration in marine sediments.
Sediments deposited on the seabed represent the largest permanent sink for carbon on Earth. They serve as a repository for substantial quantities of particulate organic carbon (POC), which is derived from marine plankton, land plants, and coastal vegetation. On the continental shelf, the POC sequestration depends on water depth and bottom water hydrodynamics, but our ability to predict sedimentation processes is limited especially in the North Sea. Additionally, anthropogenic activities, such as bottom trawling, can alter POC sedimentation, releasing the deposited carbon again to the water column. Within the project we measure the tidally induced succession of resuspension and sedimentation of POC, to resolve the lateral transport as well as the potential for remineralization within the German North Sea. We combine this knowledge on natural resuspension with bottom trawl experiments to better constrain the anthropogenic impact on the sedimentary carbon sinks. The collaborative project APOC is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the MARE:N program "Oceans under Stress - Analysis of Marine CO2 Uptake Capacity" and under the aegis of the research framework program "Research for Sustainable Development" (FONA).
Website: https://www.apoc-project.de/en/