Equatorial Pacific Climate Change and the CO₂ cycle

To understand future climate change we have to understand how climate varied in the past.  One of the biggest unknowns about past climate is the cause of atmospheric carbon dioxide variability over global warm-cold cycles.  We are working on illuminating the potential causes of the varying atmospheric carbon dioxide by focusing on the changes in the efficiency of fertilization of the surface ocean, and how, and if, that is related to changes in the deep-ocean. Furthermore, we are investigating the “how” of varying carbon dioxide with the “where.” The Eastern Equatorial Pacific Ocean, an important region of the world ocean, today, exhales significant CO₂ to the atmosphere and has the greatest rates phytoplankton growth. This project contributes  to an improved understanding of global climate change and important Earth systems connected to the tropical Pacific Ocean. This work is a collaborative project  with colleagues at Old Dominion University.