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Scientists discover that whales can actually help mitigate climate change

Whales can actually help reduce climate change says scientists. Whales may be the largest living carbon sink in the pelagic zone of the open ocean, according to a recent study from the University of Otago and the University of Alaska Southeast.

The technique of removing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is the subject of the study. The procedure aims to lower the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide.

Carbon dioxide (CO2), the most common greenhouse gas, must be stored and trapped, according to scientists, if global warming is to be avoided. In most discussions of carbon sequestration, trees are planted or wetlands are restored.

But while mentioning whales, scientists said that because of their vast size, they can naturally absorb a lot of CO2. It means none of that carbon will leak into the atmosphere when they die and sink to the ocean floor.

‘Their size and longevity allow whales to exert strong effects on the carbon cycle by storing carbon more effectively than small animals, ingesting extreme quantities of prey, and producing large volumes of waste products,’ the authors said.

‘Considering that baleen whales have some of the longest migrations on the planet, they potentially influence nutrient dynamics and carbon cycling over ocean-basin scales,’ they added.

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