Whales Not to Be Counted On as ‘Climate Savers’: Study

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Do whales increase the removal of carbon from the atmosphere? 

Do whales increase the removal of carbon from the atmosphere? 

Despite some hope that this would be the case, a new study led by Griffith University and a team of global researchers has found the amount of potential carbon capture by whales is too little to meaningfully alter the course of climate change.

Marine scientist Dr Olaf Meynecke and the team from the Griffith-led Whales and Climate Research Program including Professor Brendan Mackey and Dr Jasper De Bie, reviewed the primary ways in which baleen whales (such as humpback whales) removed atmospheric carbon at regional and global scales.

The team found the amount potentially sequestered by the whales was too minimal to make significant impact on the trajectory of climate change.

Read more at Griffith University

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