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Carbon Lock

A jar holds a sample of particles collected at 150 meters depth during a cruise along the West Antarctic Peninsula. These particles—mostly krill fecal pellets and collections of diatoms—are an important component of the ocean’s natural carbon cycle. As they sink through the water column, they transport carbon away from the atmosphere and surface ocean and deliver it to the deep waters and sediments, often for long periods of time. This special sample jar is full of a viscous gel that keeps particles separated and intact upon collection that permits the identification of particles that are important to the sinking flux. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)