All biological, chemical, and physical systems on Earth are interconnected. A good example is the CFC caused O3 depletion problem creating positive feedback to accelerate global warming.
Oceans absorb about half the atmosphere's excess CO2. The southern hemisphere's waters absorb the most, especially the Southern Ocean, surrounding Antarctica. More CO2 is dissolved in cold sea water than warm, and phytoplankton, tiny sea plants, convert an estimated 30% of the ocean's CO2 into oxygen through photosynthesis. The Southern Ocean teams with life, and phytoplankton are at the bottom of the food chain, the primary food source for krill, the small shrimp-like creatures that make up the next level of the chain. Besides feeding the whales, penguins, small fish, squid, seals, and sea birds, krill help to remove CO2 from the ocean and atmosphere. The krill's shells lock up carbon when the animals die, and the shells settle to the ocean floor. (See 'global carbon cycle' under the CO2 section.)
Without healthy, abundant phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean, Antarctic marine life will cease, and with it, a major mechanism for removing CO2. It appears that excess UV radiation, caused by ozone depletion does, in fact, kill phytoplankton or seriously reduce their growth rates. Dr. Sayed Z. El-Sayed, oceanography researcher from Texas A&M University has shown experimental evidence that increased UV levels associated with the ozone hole can reduce phytoplankton's photosynthesis growth rate from 30% to 85%! Research continues on this important subject. ***
