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The elements of marine life

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Today, the ratio of carbon to nitrogen and phosphorus in marine organic matter is relatively constant. But this ratio probably varied during the Earth's history as a consequence of changes in the phytoplankton community and ocean oxygen levels.

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Figure 1: Trends in C:N:P ratios through time.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Noah Planavsky is in the Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA,

    Noah J. Planavsky

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  1. Noah J. Planavsky
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Correspondence to Noah J. Planavsky.

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Planavsky, N. The elements of marine life. Nature Geosci 7, 855–856 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2307

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