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Times of Oman
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Can a global treaty solve the plastics crisis?
Geneva: After a failed attempt to finalize a global plastics treaty last year in Busan, South Korea, 170 countries are meeting in Geneva from Tuesday until August 14 to negotiate a binding agreement on reducing plastic waste. Delegates will decide the extent to which plastic production should be limited and also the design, disposal and waste management of plastic across its whole lifecycle. Worldwide, 413 million tons of plastic are produced annually, enough to fill over half a million Olympic swimming pools. Just 9% of this is recycled. The rest is incinerated or ends up in landfills or the ocean. Along the way, it pollutes the soil and harms wildlife and human health. Microplastics have found their way into every corner of the planet — and the human body. Plastic producers try to limit cuts Around 100 countries across Africa, Latin America, the EU and beyond — the so-called High Ambition Coalition — are pushing for a progressive agreement that includes, among other things, a significant reduction in plastic production. Plastic is produced predominantly with oil, a fossil fuel that is a main driver of human-made climate change. To achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, plastic production must be cut by at least 12 to 19%, according to Melanie Bergmann, a biologist at the Germany-based Alfred Wegener Institute that specializes in marine research. Standing in the way of a meaningful reduction are plastic manufacturing countries and oil producers — including Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia — who in Geneva are banded under the Like-Minded Coalition. Florian Titze, head of international policy at environmental NGO WWF, notes that oil and plastic producers oppose including policies like single-use plastic bans in the agreement. The pro-plastics lobby argues that the plastic crisis is founded on "poor waste management" and cannot be solved by limiting demand, notes Titze. Therefore, they want an agreement that focuses on plastic collection, consumer information and higher recycling rates. However, this would not stop overproduction, which Titze believes is the actual source of the problem. Virginia Janssens, managing director of Plastics Europe, which represents plastic producers in the region, warns against "oversimplified measures such as capping global production of primary plastics." While she admits that plastic pollution is a serious problem, solutions require "system-wide collaboration, not just within our sector, but across value chains, public authorities and more broadly," Janssens told DW. Recycling will not solve the problem Although recycling and waste management are important parts of combating the plastics crisis, they remain limited without reducing the amount of plastic, explained Bergmann, who will accompany the German delegation at the treaty negotiations. "If the amount of plastic in circulation increases every year, then we will need more and more of these infrastructures [for recycling and waste management]," said the scientist. "We can already see in the richer parts of the world that our systems cannot cope, despite the huge budget that we are already allocating to this." And that is despite a nation like Germany spending around €16 billion ($18.5 million) annually on waste management, water purification and combating environmental pollution. Hypocrisy from Germany and the EU? With around eight million tons of plastic produced annually, Germany is by far the largest plastic manufacturer in Europe, followed by Belgium and France. Globally, one-third of all plastics come from China, and just under 20% from other Asian countries and North America. Meanwhile, per capita annual plastic consumption in North America and Europe is 94 kilograms (207 pounds) and 85 kilograms, respectively. In China, the figure is 58 kilograms. Some experts who are close to the talks say it is hypocritical that the most ambitious countries demanding drastic plastic production cuts are the biggest plastic consumers. "Everybody is claiming to be super ambitious. I mean, at some point, it's even becoming perverse," said Aleksandar Rankovic, the founder of the Common Initiative environmental think tank and a regular observer at the treaty negotiations. He warns against placing responsibility solely on oil-producing countries and manufacturers and doubts that a binding target to produce a "sustainable level" of plastic can be achieved since it is too vague. Meanwhile, Germany's Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety says it's necessary to reduce primary plastic production to support a circular economy approach that aims to minimize resource consumption and keep materials in use for as long as possible — in addition to recycling. Italy, Spain, and France share this view and are promoting a corresponding position in the EU. The power of the plastics lobby In addition to national negotiating teams, hundreds of stakeholders from the plastics and chemical industries are expected in Geneva. "My experience is that there has been quite a bit of lobbying and efforts to undermine science around plastics that has been increasing over the past few years," explains Bethanie Carney Almroth, an ecotoxicologist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden who researches the harmful effects of chemicals in plastics — high ambition countries also want to reduce toxin levels in plastics. Last year, more lobbyists attended the treaty round in Busan than all the delegates from the European Union member states combined. Carney Almroth says the industry is trying to cast doubt on the credibility of science with its own biased studies. But Janssens of Plastics Europe told DW that the association and its members "recognize the importance of independent science." "Ensuring evidence-based dialogue and decision-making is critical to finding the most effective solutions," she added. Carney Almroth, meanwhile, says scientists like herself have been defamed and intimidated in emails, in the media, or in letters to the editors of scientific publications. She claims that at a conference in Canada, a representative of the packaging industry stormed into the lecture hall and accused her of spreading misinformation. After Carney Almroth filed a complaint with the UN, the man was forced to apologise. Will it remain a historic opportunity? Rankovic does not believe that a groundbreaking agreement will be adopted in Geneva, but rather a kind of framework convention, a minimum consensus that could then be built upon in the coming years. Nonetheless, with plastic production set to double in the next 20 years, time is running out. With an agreement, we have a historic opportunity to get the plastic problem under control, says Bergmann.
DW
05-08-2025
- Politics
- DW
Can a global treaty solve the plastics crisis? – DW – 08/05/2025
More than 170 countries are negotiating a binding agreement to slash fossil plastic production — and pollution. The oil industry claims we can recycle our way out of the problem. After a failed attempt to finalize a global plastics treaty last year in Busan, South Korea, 170 countries are meeting in Geneva from today until August 14 to negotiate a binding agreement on reducing plastic waste. Delegates will decide the extent to which plastic production should be limited, but also the design, disposal and waste management of plastic across its whole life-cycle. 413 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide every year, enough to fill over half a million Olympic swimming pools. Just 9% of this is recycled. The rest is incinerated, ends up in landfills or the ocean. Along the way it pollutes the soil and harms wildlife and human health. Microplastics have found their way into every corner of the planet — and the human body. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Around 100 countries across Africa, Latin America, the EU and beyond — the so-called High Ambition Coalition — are pushing for a progressive agreement that includes, among other things, a significant reduction in plastic production. Plastic is produced predominantly with oil, a fossil fuel that is a main driver of human-made climate change. In order to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, plastic production must be cut by at least 12 to 19%, according to Melanie Bergmann, a biologist at the Germany-based Alfred Wegener Institute that specializes in marine research. Standing in the way of a meaningful reduction are plastic manufacturing countries and oil producers — including Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia — who in Geneva are banded under the Like-Minded Coalition. Florian Titze, head of international policy at environmental NGO WWF, notes that oil and plastic producers oppose including policies like single-use plastic bans in the agreement. The pro-plastics lobby argue that the plastic crisis is founded on "poor waste management," and cannot be solved by limiting demand, notes Titze. They therefore want an agreement that focuses on plastic collection, consumer information and higher recycling rates. However, this would not stop overproduction, which Titze believes is the actual source of the problem. Virginia Janssens, managing director of Plastics Europe, which represents plastic producers in the region, warns against "oversimplified measures such as capping global production of primary plastics." While she admits that plastic pollution is a serious problem, solutions require "system-wide collaboration, not just within our sector, but across value chains, public authorities and more broadly," Janssens told DW. Although recycling and waste management are an important part of combating the plastics crisis, they remain limited without a reduction in the amount of plastic, explained Bergmann, who will accompany the German delegation at the treaty negotiations. "If the amount of plastic in circulation increases every year, then we will need more and more of these infrastructures [for recycling and waste management]," said the scientist. "We can already see in the richer parts of the world that our systems cannot cope, despite the huge budget that we are already allocating to this." And that is despite the fact that a nation like Germany spends around 16 billion euros per year on waste management, water purification, and combating environmental pollution. With around eight million tons of plastic produced annually, Germany is by far the largest plastic manufacturer in Europe, followed by Belgium and France. Globally, one-third of all plastics come from China, and just under 20% from other Asian countries and North America. Meanwhile, per capita annual plastic consumption in North America and Europe is 94 kg (207 lbs) and 85 kg respectively. In China, the figure is 58 kg. The fact that the most ambitious countries demanding drastic plastic production cuts are the biggest plastics consumers is hypocritical, say some experts who are close to the talks. "Everybody is claiming to be super ambitious. I mean, at some point it's even becoming perverse," said Aleksandar Rankovic, the founder of the Common Initiative environmental think tank and a regular observer at the treaty negotiations. He warns against placing responsibility solely on oil-producing countries and manufacturers, and doubts that a binding target to produce a "sustainable level" of plastic can be achieved since it is too vague. Meanwhile, Germany's Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety says it's necessary to reduce primary plastic production in order to support a circular economy approach that aims to minimize resource consumption and keep materials in use for as long as possible — in addition to recycling. Italy, Spain, and France share this view and are promoting a corresponding position in the EU. In addition to national negotiating teams, hundreds of stakeholders from the plastics and chemical industries are expected in Geneva. "My experience is that there has been quite a bit of lobbying and efforts to undermine science around plastics that has been increasing over the past few years," explains Bethanie Carney Almroth, an ecotoxicologist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden who researches the harmful effects of chemicals in plastics — high ambition countries also want to reduce toxin levels in plastics. Last year, there were more lobbyists present at the treaty round in Busan than all the delegates from the European Union member states combined. Carney Almroth says the industry is trying to cast doubt on the credibility of science with its own biased studies. But Janssens of Plastics Europe told DW that the association and its members "recognize the importance of independent science." "Ensuring evidence-based dialogue and decision-making is critical to finding the most effective solutions,' she added. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Carney Almroth, meanwhile, says scientists like herself have been defamed and intimidated in emails, in the media, or in letters to the editors of scientific publications. She claims that at a conference in Canada, a representative of the packaging industry stormed into the lecture hall and accused her of spreading misinformation. After Carney Almroth filed a complaint with the UN, the man was forced to apologize. Rankovic does not believe that a groundbreaking agreement will be adopted in Geneva, but rather a kind of framework convention, a minimum consensus that could then be built upon in the coming years. Nonetheless, with plastic production set to double in the next 20 years, time is running out. With an agreement, we have a historic opportunity to get the plastic problem under control, says Bergmann. "If I didn't believe that something could be achieved here, I wouldn't need to go."
DW
04-08-2025
- Science
- DW
Scientists search for climate clues in ancient ice – DW – 08/04/2025
Scientists drilled thousands of meters into the Antarctic ice sheet to retrieve the world's oldest ice sample. They hope it could provide insight into today's climate crisis. Scientists in Germany are studying a 1.2-million-year-old ice core retrieved from Antarctica after years of planning and months of drilling in temperatures of -35 degrees Celsius (-31 Fahrenheit). International teams reached depths of 2,800 meters (1.74 miles) into the Antarctic ice sheet to claim the oldest continuous ice core to have ever been drilled. The scientists are now hoping it will unlock vital information about the Earth's climate. "Ice cores are climate archives, so they tell us something about the climate history of the Earth," said Maria Hörhold, glaciologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), where one of the samples is being studied. The core contains air bubbles allowing scientists to measure the quantities of greenhouse gases, like CO2, held in the atmosphere over the last 1.2 million years. They hope the ice core could help scientists better understand climate change by shedding more light on the connection between the carbon cycle and the temperatures on the planet. In past ice core samples, researchers were able to see alternating hot periods with cold, or glacial periods, that took place approximately every 100,000 years. But looking further back, the cold temperatures occurred more frequently — around every 40,000 years. "This is mainly driven, for example, by planetary features, like how the Earth is positioned towards the Sun," Hörhold told DW. "But people do not really know why we shifted from a 40,000-year cycle at say 1.5 million years ago to what we have today." By extending the 800,000-year-old ice core record and figuring out why the cycle changed, researchers hope to "improve predictions of how Earth's climate may respond to future greenhouse gas increases," said Liz Thomas of the British Antarctic Survey. "There is no other place on Earth that retains such a long record of the past atmosphere as Antarctica," added Thomas in a statement. "It's our best hope to understand the fundamental drivers of Earth's climate shifts." Scientists already know that concentrations of greenhouse gases, like CO2, were lower during colder periods on Earth. While during warmer times, a build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere prevented heat from escaping. "The idea is that you understand how the climate internally interacts, so how do atmospheric patterns interact, how does ice sheet elevation interact with sea level, and so on," she told DW, adding that studying the ice core would hopefully improve their understanding of those interactions. However, she added that even during previous warm periods in Earth's history, CO2 concentrations were much lower than they are today. The current high levels are primarily the result of human-driven global warming, caused by the burning of fossil fuels like oil and gas. The pan-European ice core study is part of the Beyond EPICA – Oldest Ice project. The ice sample has been cut into one-meter length pieces. These have now been delivered for processing into smaller sub-samples at organizations including AWI polar and marine institute in Bremerhaven, Germany, and the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, UK. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video But Hörhold said it will take at least a year for the first findings to be published, while other discoveries would likely take longer. Still, for scientists like Hörhold, who have been part of the Oldest Ice project for years, the retrieval of the ice core is an exciting new chance to discover more about the Earth. "For every one of us, this was very special; to have that ice in our hands and to know that this is really old and an unprecedented ice core record," said Hörhold. "It's a real honor for us to be responsible for processing here."
India Today
04-08-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Global push to curb plastic pollution: Can Geneva talks deliver a treaty?
Plastics have become deeply embedded in our daily lives, with global production reaching a staggering 460 million tonnes annually. Nearly as much waste is generated, 353 million tonnes, raising alarm bells amongst experts who warn that this figure could triple by 2060, bringing with it immense environmental a renewed effort to combat this crisis, delegates from over 170 countries are convening in Geneva, Switzerland, from August 5 to 14, to draft a legally binding global treaty on plastic meeting follows the failed negotiations of the 2024 UN Global Plastics Treaty, where countries could not agree on a unified Pollution: A Mounting Environmental Crisis Plastic is responsible for 3.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, a footprint greater than that of the aviation and shipping industries combined. Oceans are already bearing the brunt of this pollution. A recent study reveals that the upper layers of the North Atlantic alone contain 27 million tonnes of tiny particles are now pervasive, not just in water but also in soil, crops, animals, and even human blood. Their ability to bioaccumulate, gradually build up in living organisms, makes them particularly dangerous, contributing to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Observers noted greater clarity on 'red lines' regarding plastic production limits. (Photo: Getty) High Stakes in Geneva: Will the World Unite?Dr. Melanie Bergmann of the Alfred Wegener Institute emphasised the significance of the upcoming talks:'Ideally, we will achieve in Geneva that the global community, or at least large parts of it, commit to a strong agreement that is based on scientific facts and recognises how harmful plastic is to humans and nature.'However, during the last round of negotiations in December 2024 in Seoul, efforts to reach a consensus collapsed. While Latin American, African, and several EU countries pushed for strict controls, they faced resistance from oil-producing nations, Canada, the U.S., and India—all of which have economic stakes tied to petroleum, a key raw material in plastic production. Despite the stalemate, observers noted greater clarity on 'red lines' regarding plastic production limits and chemical Bergmann added, 'The delegations must use diplomacy to bring their positions closer together, despite geopolitical tensions and differing interests, to create a basis for successful cooperation.'The Path Forward: Cut at the SourceTo effectively address plastic-related emissions, experts say production must be cut by 12–17% each year. Dr. Bergmann stressed the importance of upstream intervention:'Scientific calculations show that effective measures must start at the production level. We should limit production to unavoidable applications, reduce chemical diversity from the design stage, and phase out substances of concern.'A Treaty Within Reach?The road ahead will require science-driven decisions, political will, and global cooperation. If nations can put the planet over profit, a binding agreement may finally emerge, offering hope in the fight against one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time.- EndsMust Watch
WIRED
02-03-2025
- Science
- WIRED
These Plants Photosynthesize Deep in the Arctic Even When There's No Light
Mar 2, 2025 7:00 AM Under the sea ice during the Arctic's pitch-black polar night, cells power photosynthesis on the lowest light levels ever observed in nature. Video: Mark Belan/ Quanta Magazine The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Most of life's engines run on sunlight. Photons filter down through the atmosphere and are eagerly absorbed by light-powered organisms such as plants and algae. Through photosynthesis, the particles of light power a cellular reaction that manufactures chemical energy (in the form of sugars), which is then passed around the food web in a complex dance of herbivores, predators, scavengers, decomposers, and more. On a bright, sunny day, there's a wealth of photons to go around. But what happens at low light? Biologists have long been curious about just how little light photosynthesis can run on—or how many photons need to arrive, and how quickly, for a cell's photosynthetic machinery to process carbon dioxide into oxygen and energy. Calculations have suggested a theoretical minimum of around 0.01 micromoles of photons per square meter per second, or less than one-hundred-thousandth of the light of a sunny day. For decades, this calculation was theoretical, given the difficulties of studying photosynthesis under low light. No one could confirm it in the field, though there are plenty of places on Earth that light barely reaches. Every winter in the high Arctic, for example, the sun, hidden by the tilt of the Earth, vanishes for months. Meters of snow blanket the sea ice and block incoming light, leaving the frigid ocean below as dark as the inside of a tomb. There, biologists assumed, photosynthesizing microalgae that live in the water and ice power down for the season and wait for warmth and light to return. 'People thought of the polar night as these desert conditions where there's very little life, and things are all sleeping and hibernating and waiting for the next spring to come,' said Clara Hoppe, a biogeochemist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany. 'But really, people had never really looked at it.' In winter 2020, Hoppe spent months living on a ship wedged into an ice floe, through the polar night, to study the limits of photosynthesis in the dark. Her team's recent study in Nature Communications reported microalgae growing and reproducing at light levels at or close to the theoretical minimum—far lower than had previously been observed in nature. The study shows that in some of the coldest, darkest places on Earth, life blooms with the barest quantum of light. 'At least some phytoplankton, under some conditions, may be able to do some very useful things at very low light,' said Douglas Campbell, a specialist in aquatic photosynthesis at Mount Allison University in Canada, who was not involved in the study. 'It's important work.' Clara Hoppe, a biogeochemist at the Alfred Wegener Institute, probed the limits of photosynthesis in the months-long darkness of the Arctic polar night. Photograph: Paolo Verzone The Power of the Dark Side Scientists have traditionally understood the Arctic to be a place of stasis for much of the year. In winter, organisms that can flee the frigid waters do so; those that stay live off stored reserves or sink into a silent sleep. Then, when the sun returns, the place comes back to life. During spring bloom, an upsurge in photosynthesizing algae and other microbes kick-starts the Arctic ecosystem, fueling a yearly revel, with tiny crustaceans, fish, seals, birds, polar bears, whales, and more. It seemed to Hoppe that any phytoplankton able to get an earlier start than the competition could have a more successful summer. This led her to wonder when, precisely, the organisms could respond to the light coming back. Her interest received a jolt in 2015 when she tagged along on a research project led by researchers at the University of Tromsø in Norway. The multidisciplinary team found an unexpectedly thriving ecosystem in the winter waters off the Svalbard archipelago; some organisms, particularly clams, were actually more active than they were in summer. To everyone's surprise, the phytoplankton were not asleep either: Hoppe measured higher levels of the pigment chlorophyll—a useful proxy for active photosynthesis—in the seawater than anyone expected. Rather than sinking into surface sediments and overwintering in a dormant 'sleep mode,' many cells Hoppe found were having an active winter, with their cellular operations fully up and running. 'If these things are active,' Hoppe said, 'the question obviously becomes: When do they start to function again for the ecosystem?' She began to wonder about the vast, cold blackness of the polar ocean. The icebreaker ship RV Polarstern wedged itself into an ice floe in fall 2019, then turned its engines off. For months it drifted with the sea ice and served as a base for scientists studying the physics, chemistry, and biology of the Arctic's polar night. Photograph: Alfred Wegener Institute/Lukas Piotrowski In early 2020, Hoppe found herself testing the limits of photosynthesis directly, camped aboard an icebreaker ship that had been deliberately rammed into an ice floe and allowed to drift with its engines off through the polar night. A rotating crew of scientists with the expedition Mosaic (Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) occupied RV Polarstern on its journey to gather as much data about the Arctic winter as possible. Hoppe and her colleagues worked in the darkness of 24-hour night, amid expanses of glittering ice and wind chills down to minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit. Cracks and ridges in the ice constantly shifted the route to a permanent hole in the ice, named Ocean City, from which Hoppe and her team gathered hundreds of liters of seawater samples and hauled them back to the ship for analysis. The team carried out two parallel sets of measurements. First, they took samples of microalgae from seawater and sea ice into the shipboard lab. There, they incubated the cells and offered them carbon (traceable by isotope, or the number of neutrons in the atomic nuclei) and minute amounts of light (though significantly more than what was available under the ice). By measuring the cells' carbon-uptake rates, they were able to estimate the limits of the organisms' capacity for photosynthesis. The researchers also took regular seawater samples in which to track the amounts of phytoplankton and chlorophyll present over time. Throughout February, both sets of numbers remained static, Hoppe said. By the end of March, however, the microalgae's carbon uptake had jumped, along with the number of cells and the concentration of chlorophyll—proxies for growth and photosynthesis. Hoppe and her team tested and ruled out many possible explanations, and recognized that the uptick in photosynthesis coincided with the return of the first springtime sunlight. At Ocean City (left), a scientific encampment on the ice floe, researchers collected seawater from a permanent hole in the ice (right). The sampled region changed as the floe drifted across the Arctic. Photograph: Left: Alfred Wegener Institute/Esther Horvath; Right: Alfred Wegener Institute/Michael Gutsche Yet a key piece of evidence only emerged three years after the expedition, Hoppe said, and from researchers in another department: the physicists measuring light beneath the sea ice. This has historically been tricky: 'You can't really measure light under the ice without disturbing the environment you're trying to measure,' Hoppe said. 'Because you drill a hole, you walk around—even footsteps on the snow and ice are going to change the light field.' To get around the problem, the sea ice physicist Niels Fuchs and his team aboard RV Polarstern had placed extremely precise light sensors around the ice floe early in the season and allowed them to freeze to the underside of the ice for the winter. Like trail cameras placed in the backwoods by a wildlife biologist, the light sensors recorded data on under-ice light for months, undisturbed. In February, the darkness of the polar night was nearly absolute, and not even photons from a bright moon or fleeting twilight could reach the dark waters below. Then, in late March, the sun briefly surfaced over the horizon. Beneath that ice, the light sensors recorded an astronomically small number of photons: an upper range of 0.04 micromoles per square meter per second, a number very close to the theoretical minimum amount of light that photosynthesis can run on. The actual amount of light was probably lower. 'The light we observed, compared to a normal sunny day, is like one droplet of water compared to 3 liters,' said Fuchs, an ice specialist at the University of Hamburg and coauthor on the study. To measure the amount of light penetrating the sea ice, the physicist Niels Fuchs froze light sensors into the ice floe and left them to record data undisturbed for months. Photograph: Courtesy of Niels Fuchs Their estimate is a conservative one, he added, and it's possible even fewer photons got through. 'The ice cover is quite heterogeneous,' he explained. Because some parts of the sheet might allow more light through than others, the research team selected the upper thresholds of their light measurements. 'In the end there's some variety, and we really want to be on the safe side—to not stake on the lower limit where we're not 100 percent certain that this is really the amount of light.' Pairing Fuchs' light data with Hoppe's microalgae observations clinched it: At the end of March, right when the barest amount of sunlight returned, the microalgae not only had their photosynthetic machinery up and running but were also growing and building biomass. Her team concluded that they'd made the first-ever field observation of photosynthesis at just around the theoretical minimum—where the amount of light was an order of magnitude lower than what had been observed in nature before. Sleep No More Hoppe was excited to observe photosynthesis at or near the minimum amount of light that could power life. But the finding raised a question: How could dormant cells be ready to turn their machinery on at the very moment that spring's first light trickled through the ice? 'The light we observed, compared to a normal sunny day, is like one droplet of water compared to 3 liters.' Her team found that during the darkest periods of polar night, the microalgae didn't show a measurable uptick in carbon uptake—they were neither growing nor photosynthesizing. Yet they weren't totally dormant either. The cells kept running on low power. Then, as soon as the light levels rose enough to support active carbon fixation in late March, the algae were ready to explode into action. 'It's sort of like a seedbed or an inoculation issue,' Campbell said. 'That ability to productively exploit really low light improves your ability to survive and then be ready to go fast when the light goes back.' The researchers aren't entirely sure how the microalgae managed to stay alive and out of dormancy through the darkest times. Some, such as diatoms, can consume dissolved organic nutrients directly from the water. Perhaps they could eke out a living from stray photons that passed through cracks in the ice or were emitted by some bioluminescent creature. Or perhaps polar algae have evolved unique mechanisms that can keep their metabolism running on low at frigid temperatures so that they're ready to activate at first light. Such adaptations might be important to the ecology of the region, said Kevin Flynn, a plankton specialist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory who was not involved in the study. 'The organisms may be getting ready earlier than we think,' he said. The finding is 'important work that's a reality check about what nature really does.' However, he isn't entirely convinced that the cells' late-March growth occurred through photosynthesis. 'The appearance of chlorophyll does not mean that they are photosynthesizing to obtain that growth,' he said. 'They may simply be making more chlorophyll from organics and in preparation for photosynthesizing. Because as the season goes, there will be light. And the organism which is ready for it quicker than the others is going to go the quickest.' On the other hand, Campbell thinks it's possible that the algae might be photosynthesizing even earlier than Hoppe's team suggested. Their estimates of light levels were conservative, he said, and photosynthesis may have been occurring well in advance of the kind of biomass accumulation that's easy to measure. It is feasible to him, then, that 'these things are right at or touching below that biochemical thermodynamic limit,' he said. The findings paint a new picture of life in the Arctic's polar night and possibly beyond. Life may not be packed entirely into a few short months of summer; rather, the waters may be productive—or, at the very least, still living—throughout the year. This, Hoppe said, could rewrite our understanding of Arctic organisms' life cycles, interactions, and energy reserves. She wonders, too, whether Arctic phytoplankton's ability to ride out near-absolute darkness might be shared by some algae in the colder, darker waters of the deep sea. If she's right, the zone of productive ocean may be deeper than anyone thought. 'If polar phytoplankton were able to evolve these mechanisms,' Hoppe suggested, 'I'm sure phytoplankton in other areas of the ocean can do the same.' Original story reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent publication of the Simons Foundation whose mission is to enhance public understanding of science by covering research developments and trends in mathematics and the physical and life sciences.
