In the ocean that surrounds Antarctica, deep water wells up to the surface, carrying nutrients and other dissolved materials needed by light-loving ocean life. One of these materials is calcium carbonate, which, when dissolved, raises seawater alkalinity and helps the ocean respond to increasing carbon dioxide levels. Ocean currents carry this alkalinity-enriched water northward—unless tiny organisms intercept it and trap the alkalinity in the Southern Ocean.
Click here for original story, Tiny microorganisms in the Southern Ocean affect how the rest of the world’s seas respond to carbon
Source: Phys.org