Climate Change and the Microbial Loop

NIWA biological oceanographer Dr Julie Hall explains how increased sea temperatures are predicted to increase stratification of the ocean, creating a disconnect between the surface waters and deep ocean.

This disconnect tends to create low nutrient conditions which leads to a dominance of food webs by the microbial loop. The consequences are less productivity going up the food web and less carbon going into the deep ocean. This could have implications throughout the food web.