BERLIN (AFP) — Indian and German scientists have said that a controversial experiment has “dampened hopes” that dumping hundreds of tonnes of dissolved iron in the Southern Ocean can lessen global warming. The experiment involved “fertilising” a 300-square-kilometre (115-sqare-mile) area of ocean inside the core of an eddy — an immense rotating column of water — with six tonnes of dissolved iron.
As expected, this stimulated growth of tiny planktonic algae or phytoplankton, which it was hoped would take out of the atmosphere carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas blamed for climate change, and absorb it. However, the scientists from India’s National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) did not count on these phytoplankton being eaten by tiny crustacean zooplankton.
“The cooperative project Lohafex has yielded new insights on how ocean ecosystems function,” an AWI statement published on Monday said.
“But it has dampened hopes on the potential of the Southern Ocean to sequester significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and thus mitigate global warming.”
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They didn’t know that zooplankton eat phytoplankton? Next time (if there is one) they should plan to bring a biologist along.
I think probably the researchers were unclear of what the lag time between the phytoplankton and zooplankton cropping would be. The longer the lag for the zooplankton population to utilize all the phytoplankton production the more that production that will be transported to the deep.
Provided the twilight zone doesn’t act as a Gate, right?
http://scienceblogs.com/deepseanews/2007/04/the_twilight_zone_the_gate_and.php
Exactly
Its beyond me really. If only 10% of surface production can make it down to the bottom anyways, why is this even economically viable? It makes me wonder what they plan to say to people and companies in their sales pitch for carbon sequestration…
Can’t we just drop a giant icecube in the middle of the ocean?
Angelo, I’m a Futurama junkee myself. ^_^
Kevin: A few years ago some student came to me with an idea to sequester CO2 in small “greenwater” aquaria where phytoplankton could be grown. I told him that the idea is not feasible because the CO2 will go right back as soon as the phytoplankton degrades.
I did get a better idea what to do with algae, though. :)
Adding iron to the sea will not only cure global warming , it will feed billions more people . one day they will ” discover ” that adding used food tin cans to the ocean as artificial reefs , will add the required iron fertilization as a slow release fertilizer and nursery for all the extra fish .There are far too many people lining up to make billions from global warming to let it be cured for a few cents .Some governments see a carbon tax as the perfect way to tax the air we breath and control who gets the right to breathe . As we increase the amount of irrigation we decrease the amount of natural iron flowing into the ocean , Lack of iron is the CAUSE of global warming , the algae can not remove theCO2 from the air because we stop rivers carrying iron into the oceans , adding tin cans to ocean WILL cure global warming for free as well as save the whales and feed billions with extra fish , once we remove the greedy experts