Questions rise about seeding for ocean C02 sequestration
http://www.anl.gov/articles/questions-rise-about-seeding-ocean-c02-sequestration[font face=Serif][font size=5]Questions rise about seeding for ocean C02 sequestration[/font]
By Tona Kunz June 12, 2013
[font size=3]LEMONT, Ill A new study on the feeding habits of ocean microbes calls into question the potential use of algal blooms to trap carbon dioxide and offset rising global levels.
These blooms contain iron-eating microscopic phytoplankton that absorb C02 from the air through the process of photosynthesis and provide nutrients for marine life. But one type of phytoplankton, a diatom, is using more iron that it needs for photosynthesis and storing the extra in its silica skeletons and shells, according to an X-ray analysis of phytoplankton conducted at the U.S. Department of Energys Argonne National Laboratory. This reduces the amount of iron left over to support the carbon-eating plankton.
Just like someone walking through a buffet line who takes the last two pieces of cake, even though they know theyll only eat one, theyre hogging the food, said Ellery Ingall, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and co-lead author on this result. Everyone else in line gets nothing; the persons decision affects these other people.
Because of this iron-hogging behavior, the process of adding iron to surface water called iron fertilization or iron seeding may have only a short-lived environmental benefit. And, the process may actually reduce over the long-term how much C02 the ocean can trap.
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