Climate: siphonophores dance on the facade of the UN

(ANSA) - NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 20 - The siphonophore, a marine creature that lives in the "twilight zone" of the oceans and is crucial for removing carbon monoxide from the atmosphere, is at the center of an installation that a collective of Danish artists has brought to 'UN coinciding with the climate days.

    The video 'Vertical Migration' by the Superflex collective will project the sinuous dance of a siphonophore until 24 September to coincide with the crucial climate meetings in view of Cop 26 in Glasgow. The goal - the organizers explained - is to focus attention on the contribution of this species in the system of removing pollution from the depths of the sea and indirectly on the importance of biodiversity: "If they disappeared - said the oceanographer Peterde Menocal -" atmospheric carbon dioxide would rise by more than 50%. These organisms make the earth habitable. "

    The siphonophore is a bizarre entity composed of individual parts or "zooids" that perform highly specific and specialized functions: some digest, others swim, others reproduce. "They work in unison, in an interesting metaphor for humanity to submit," said Heidi Sosik of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

    The siphonophore removes carbon monoxide that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere by rising to the surface from the "twilight zone" when it can hide from its predators, and eat carbon-rich organisms. It has been estimated that two to six billion tons of carbon are sucked into the "twilight zone" each year, where they are stored indefinitely:a quantity of Co2 equal to several times that emitted by all the cars in the world. (HANDLE).