Scientists Given Go-Ahead for Ocean Fertilization Scheme
Scientists from Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute have been given approval to proceed with a controversial plan to dump several tons of iron into the Southern Ocean. A recent study from the University of Southampton has shown that seeding the ocean with iron can lock carbon away from the atmosphere permanently, but many environmentalists are concerned about the scheme’s long-term effects.
The University of Southampton study showed that a natural source of iron at the northern boundary of the Southern Ocean tripled the growth of phytoplankton in the area. When marine algae and phytoplankton die, they take vast quantities of CO2 with them to the bottom of the ocean, leading to permanent carbon sequestration.
Results from previous ocean fertilization studies, however, are often contradictory, and researchers do not have data on the long-term effectiveness of iron-dumping. At this point, we’ll only find out the impact of ocean fertilization on local ecology after Alfred Wegener’s scientists complete their experiment.
Photo Credit: CC-licensed by Flickr user mischiru
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January 29th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Nature already does this. Dust from Africa blows into the ocean to provide iron.
When an iceberg breaks away from the shelf and melts, thousands of years of African iron dust gets recycled into sea water. This causes an algae bloom, sucks up CO2 and makes things get colder.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:34 am
Burning coal and oil to get the iron dust, then spread it on the sea seems a cycle with little gain? Messing even more with the natural balance seems out of place and counter-intuitive? Going electric from renewable sources, Solar, Wave, Wind, Tidal, Hydro, and geothermal to Electric power and NiMh or Lithium rechargeable batteries for cars makes better sense – I for one would prefer Nuclear shipping in place of the large two stroke bunker – c engines that pollute the world now-a-days? The Americans and the Russians have reactor powered ships, Why not the commercial lines? The ocenas of the world are very large, the amount of iron needed to make significant differences in the atmosphere must be huge? Before polluting Ocenas with impure Iron, shouldn’t the benefit be outlined and the process judged accordingly? This scheme follows the bio-fuels follies – it is a matter of relative sizes, not well measured by the altruists that support the schemes.