Submission + - Jellyfish Swimming is mixing the oceans (wired.com)
eviltangerine writes: A new article out of Nature suggests that marine creatures, such as the jellyfish, may contribute as much to ocean mixing as wind and tides. Wired is also covering it and includes a video of the jellyfish in action.
These "could have a profound influence on climate models, which do not now account for this so-called biogenic mixing. If swimming generates tide-scale forces, then 'it has an impact on global climate. This is a rather novel twist to the whole climate story,' said William Dewar, a Florida State University oceanographer. 'How one would extend existing models to include a biosphere mixing input is not clear, largely because no-one has spent much time thinking about it.'" Link to the Nature article here (pricey registration required)
No word yet on when the jellyfish blender is to debut.
These "could have a profound influence on climate models, which do not now account for this so-called biogenic mixing. If swimming generates tide-scale forces, then 'it has an impact on global climate. This is a rather novel twist to the whole climate story,' said William Dewar, a Florida State University oceanographer. 'How one would extend existing models to include a biosphere mixing input is not clear, largely because no-one has spent much time thinking about it.'" Link to the Nature article here (pricey registration required)
No word yet on when the jellyfish blender is to debut.
