Beneath the Arctic waters of a Norwegian fjord, a kingdom long associated with forests and soil has been quietly reshaping the ocean's carbon ledger. New research from Kongsfjorden reveals that marine fungi — not just bacteria — are significant architects of carbon storage in seafloor sediments, converting dissolved organic matter into solid biomass with surprising efficiency. The discovery arrives at a moment of urgency: these fjords hold more than a tenth of all carbon buried beneath the global seafloor, and the Arctic is transforming faster than our models can follow.
Marine fungi play overlooked role in Arctic carbon storage, study finds
Science & Space