Microphytobenthos; the missing sink?
“…re-suspension of this biomass by tidal oscillations over intertidal flats, even in low hydrodynamic conditions,
generates a net carbon flux from the littoral zones to open coastal basins. Measurements allowed
us to estimate that this microphytobenthic compartment, which colonizes a small fraction of the
total Earth surface (smaller than the accuracy of the ecosphere surface estimate), could however
generate a flux corresponding to the “missing carbon sink”…” Guarini, Jean-Marc et al (2008), J.Ocean.R.&D.1, 13-19
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237080378_Can_the_intertidal_benthic_microalgal_primary_production_account_for_the_Missing_Carbon_Sink [accessed Apr 16 2018].