More research definitely needed

Ocean Plankton Reducing Greenhouse Gases By Using More Carbon Dioxide

This story on the possible role of plankton in helping the oceans absorb more CO2 contains this surprising statement:

The world oceans are by far the largest sink of anthropogenic CO₂ on our planet. Until now, they have swallowed almost half of the CO₂ emitted through the burning of fossil fuels. However, can the oceans continue to alleviate the steady rise in atmospheric CO₂ in the future? Current models for the development of the global climate system do not incorporate the reaction of marine organisms nor the processes that they influence.

I would have thought that such models would at least have made some guesstimates about this, but it doesn't sound like it.

The experiment this team showed that plankton did respond strongly to more CO2 dissolved in the ocean:

“We expected the organisms to show distinct reactions to changing CO₂ conditions. What really surprised us, however, was the dimension of this effect. Basically, we can now say that the biology in the oceans is significantly affecting the global climate system.”

The downside is that more plankton sinking and decaying into the ocean might cause less oxygen at greater depth.

Still, it is somewhat surprising how preliminary the experimental research on this important area seems to be.