Ep269: The Unseen Agents of Climate Change

David Kirchman joins Cleaning Up to explore the world of microbes.

Microbes known as Coccolithophore are covered with protective calcified scales called coccoliths, the main ingredient of chalk. Image: Wikimedia // CC-BY-4.0

Microbes rarely feature in discussions about climate change, yet they play a central role in regulating greenhouse gases through the Earth's carbon, methane and nitrogen cycles. As the climate changes, understanding these natural processes is becoming increasingly important to develop new approaches to clean energy, agriculture and emissions reduction.

This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington speaks with Professor Emeritus David Kirchman of the University of Delaware, one of the world's leading microbial ecologists and author of Microbes: The Unseen Agents of Climate Change.

They explore how microbes drive the carbon, methane and nitrogen cycles, how climate change is reshaping ecosystems from permafrost to coral reefs, and how microbial science could help tackle the climate crisis, from microbial fuel cells and lower-emissions agriculture to biofuels, methane reduction and even emerging forms of carbon removal and geo-engineering.

Watch the full episode on YouTube now, or find it on your favourite podcast platform.