WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 -- The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration issued the following press release:
The ocean captures about 31 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions, removing carbon from the atmosphere that would otherwise continue to trap heat and increase temperatures. Blue carbon, or carbon captured by ocean ecosystems includes:
Carbon absorbed by aquatic plants, algae, and phytoplankton
* Carbon stored in the bodies of living animals
* Carbon sequestered in deep-sea sediments
Scientists believe whales contribute to all three of these carbon storage mechanisms. They likely supported even greater amounts of blue carbon storage before their populations were depleted by commercial whaling in ...