Playing with Plankton

The idea of sequestering carbon by introducing iron into the ocean to fertilize phytoplankton blooms has been around at least since John Martin began advocating it in the 1980s. Several experiments have been conducted without success. Now that CO2 emissions are beginning to have a cost, and emissions reduction patents could bring millions in profit, iron fertilization is being revisited. It seems so simple, dump some iron in the ocean, phytoplankton gobble it up, die, then sink to the ocean floor. Yet the complication are myriad. Read this entry and comments on the Real Climate blog. Here is the Wikipedia article. The issue of ocean acidification is not unrelated. Don’t fool with Mother Ocean.

Update: Researchers have found that the Southern Ocean is nearly saturated with CO2. See also Science magazine’s online news for 17 May 2007, which includes the story “Don’t Bet on Bloomin’ Plankton“. The story explains that recent research questions the role that plankton blooms play in sequestering carbon. Plankton might actually be a net source of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Moreover, despite what the U.S. president says, GHG emissions appear to increasing.