Vast discoveries and rich reserves

The ocean floor It’s more bizarre than you might imagine. The cartoon “The Little Mermaid” taught us that in these depths there is fun and almost anything that happens, but what was discovered recently is beyond imagination. Who would have thought, in fact, that there are huge reserves of Sugar?

The novelty became official thanks to the discovery Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology Bremen. The oceans are in danger There is still time to avoid disasterBut what does it mean to have what is a true “grassland”? As described by the researchers, we are talking about seaweed, very distinctive marine plants.

In practice, these very special plants are able to store an impressive amount of sugar, to be exact under their fronds that sway on the ocean floor. Wanting to be more specific, sucrose is found in the base soil, at the roots. The numbers show how much is there: we’re talking about a total of 80 times higher than all other seafloors. One million tons of sucrose can easily be exceeded, which is the equivalent of 30 billion cans of any soft drink. How exactly is the sugar in question produced?

faster metabolism

The world has a fifth ocean, as verified recently, it is possible to imagine how much sucrose is on this sea floor. The sugar we are talking about is produced thanks to the photosynthesis process of living organisms. In fact, plants exploit a large part of the sugars When the light is moderately strongTo speed up the metabolism and promote its growth. With more intense light, seaweed is able to produce more sugar, which is released in what is called Rootwhich is the part of the soil surrounding the roots of plants (from which they absorb the main nutrients).

Protection compounds

However, there are other details worth investigating. According to experts from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, the excess sugar just indicated is not “eat” before Microorganisms present in the oceans. In fact, it still lives on the sea floor thanks to certain marine plant compounds that protect it and that inhibit the metabolism. These plants are even capable of absorbing twice as much carbon from the forest on Earth, with Speed ​​over 30 times.

The importance of the discovery has been emphasized many times by the same authors. In particular, this study will help to better understand coastal habitats The most important for the entire planet. In addition, the news about the sugar on the sea floor has made clear how important it is to maintain blue carbon ecosystems, a detail that is often not emphasized. The fact remains that our oceans are surprising day by day, as evidenced by Unprecedented new animal species He was first seen just a few weeks ago. The sea floor sure never gets bored.