Hydrogen peroxide production driven by UV-B in planktonic microorganisms: a photocatalytic factor in sea warming and ice melting in regions with ozone depletion?

Abstract

UV-B radiation activates the synthesis of hydrogen peroxide from water and oxygen in many protein kinds, which having been discovered initially in antibodies, has been so far applied to explore new mechanisms in relation to immune defence. As shown here, the natural association of this common photocatalysis and catalase transforms UV-B photons into heat in a cyclic reaction that represents in biology a basic defence mechanism against UV-B radiation and cold, the activity of which drives the buoyancy and production of planktonic microorganisms in cold oceans. Moreover, given that UV-B radiation reaching the Earth's surface depends mainly on changes in the ozone layer, that defence mechanism over-activated by ozone depletion in microorganisms gathered at the top layer of the water column during seasonal production could result in accelerated sea ice melting, surface warming and ecosystem changes, such as is happening at high latitudes. Thus, one concludes that UV-B-driven photoproduction and decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in plankton can be a new, hidden biogeochemical process under control of the ozone layer with important effects on the ecosystem and climate.

Catalase Catalyses the Conversion of Ultraviolet-B Radiation Into Heat: Unexpected Role for Microorganisms in Sea Ice Melting and Sea Surface Warming

“…3). In this regard, CAT in known to evolve in Precambrian B) CATUVB playing a biogeochemical process with impact on ice melting and sea warming Thermogenesis due to an unknown UVB-driven H 2 O 2 synthesis and its decomposition by CAT in microorganisms has been previously proposed as a photocalytic factor in sea ice melting and sea warming in cold regions with severe ozone depletion (Moreno 2012). Experimental evidence for that UVB thermogenesis (Fig.…”

Effects of stratospheric ozone depletion, solar UV radiation, and climate change on biogeochemical cycling: interactions and feedbacks

“…Sea ice melting at high latitudes could also be due to the transformation of solar UV-B radiation into heat by planktonic microorganisms in a cyclic reaction consisting of photooxidation of water at 300 nm that yields H 2 O 2 with subsequent decomposition of H 2 O 2 by catalase. 19 The decline in Arctic sea ice affects local climates, particularly in North America, Europe, and East Asia with large impacts on biogeochemical cycles. For example, changes in rates of primary production and respiration in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems may occur as a consequence of droughts and enhanced runoff of terrestrially derived organic carbon, respectively (see below).…”

Recent progress in the design of photocatalytic H2O2 synthesis system

“…H 2 O 2 is an indispensable chemical in daily life. It has many applications in fields such as biology ( Chang et al, 2021 ; Noh et al, 2020 ; Guarino et al, 2019 ), medicine ( Andersen et al, 2006 ; Kozlova et al, 2015 ; Wang Y. et al, 2020 ), chemical industry ( Chung et al, 2020 ; Zhang et al, 2021 ), environmental protection ( Dinakar et al, 2020 ; Moreno, 2011 ). As a clean oxidant, the decomposition of H 2 O 2 only yields H 2 O, which does not pose an environmental risk.…”