TNRTB Archive – Retained for reference information
American marine biologists have found a new design feature for sustaining advanced life on Earth. They discovered that the rate of remineralization of particulate organic matter in the ocean must be fine-tuned. Oceanic dissolved organic carbon is one of the largest sources of reduced carbon in the biosphere. Remineralization of this carbon and its subsequent deposition into the deep ocean represents a large fraction of the total carbon flux in the carbon cycle. If the rate of remineralization is too low, the carbon cycle will not run at an adequate rate to sustain advanced life (for example, not enough carbon dioxide will be removed from the atmosphere). If the rate of remineralization is too high, parts of the carbon cycle will be out of balance with other parts (for example, too much carbon dioxide will be removed from the atmosphere). The production of oceanic dissolved organic carbon, its rate of remineralization, the depth and extent of Earth’s oceans, and the level of plate tectonic activity all must be fine-tuned to maintain the carbon cycle at a rate ideal for advanced life. These improbable features testify of a supernatural, superintelligent Creator.
Charles S. Hopkinson, Jr. and Joseph J. Vallino, “Efficient Transport of Carbon to the Deep Ocean Through Dissolved Organic Matter,” Nature 433 (2005): 142-45.
