What is ocean fertilization?
Ocean fertilization is characterized as a way to use to ocean as a carbon sink through the introduction of iron to the water, theoretically reducing the release of carbon into the atmosphere and therefore reducing global warming. This theory of iron fertilization has been around since the 1920’s and was made popular by John Martin of WHOI in the 1980’s. Martin proposed two hypotheses with the first being that high nutrient, low chlorophyll (HNLC) areas are that way due to inefficient amounts of iron concentrations. His second hypothesis was that if iron did direct the yield in high nutrient, low chlorophyll waters and also absorb organic carbon into the depths of the ocean through the use of the biological pump then this could explain the observations made through ice cores he had collected. The ice cores had shown that carbon had a direct relationship with the climatic changes of the planet. Martin proposed, using his hypotheses, that fertilizing the ocean with iron in these HNLC waters could export atmospheric carbon dioxide into the oceanic sediment and seize it for many years.
The Carbon Cycle in reference to the fertilization of the ocean can be simply explained by understanding that phytoplankton uses the carbon dioxide to grow. Carbon dioxide reaches the ocean surface and is photosynthesized by the phytoplankton which in turn grows into larger blooms. These blooms either expire and sink to the bottom or are eaten by zooplankton. The zooplankton respire an amount of carbon dioxide and also release carbon through their fecal pellets which then sink to the bottom. The addition of iron will cause an increase in phytoplankton blooms, such as diatoms, which use up carbon during photosynthesis. The ...
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According to a scientists in the video, if all of the carbon that sits at the bottom of the ocean were released back into the atmosphere, the amount of carbon currently in our atmosphere would double1. The scientists in the video explains that they know carbon exists down at the ocean’s depths because marine life that dies will sink to the bottoms of the ocean to decay producing this organic carbon1. This is important to know because it is such an important system, that without these phytoplankton at the start of the process that brings carbon to the ocean floor, then the atmosphere would contain two times its carbon
1. Life is more abundant in the North Atlantic than in the Pacific because the ocean area of the North Atlantic is directly in the path of iron-rich dust from the Sahara Desert, which leads to the development of bigger communities of phytoplankton, and in turn plankton, and so on. This fact is related to global warming because someone thought of an idea to fight global warming by putting huge amounts of iron solution into the ocean so that extreme plant growth would occur and these plants would remove enough carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to counter the negative effects of humans.
The reduction in photosynthesising biomass led to an increased reliance on the Worlds other carbon sink, Oceans. Between 26-44% of CO2 in the atmosphere is absorbed by oceans by photosynthesising organisms, mainly phytoplankton (Archer, D. and Pierrehumbert, R., 2011), seawater chemically reacts with aqueous Carbon Dioxide, one of the end products is Hydrogen ions (H+) (NOAA, 2013). The increased concentration of H+ results in the ocean becoming more acidic, since pH is determined by concentration of Hydrogen ions.
As certain types of pollution damages our atmosphere, our natural protection from the sun weakens and as a result the Earth gets warmer with time, impacting the temperature of our seas. The unfortunate results of global warming and the co...
With carbon dioxide levels continuing to rise over the past few decades (fig. 1) and now into the future, concern has been brought to what is happening to the carbonate chemistry of the oceans. Because of these changes in chemistry, the ocean is becoming more acidic. Along with climate change, ocean acidification may be one of the greatest threats to our planet. The higher the ocean’s acidity level goes, the lower the calcium carbonate levels will drop. Even though this is a big scale issue, my goal is to focus on and underline what these changes will mean for the marine life that depend on the calcium carbonate in seawater. I will go in depth with specific regards to a study regarding pteropods or sea butterflies.
The ocean has always absorbed CO2 from the air. An article presented in Nature August 2012 enlightens that about half of all CO2 generated by human is absorbed by the ocean. This chemical reaction is occurring naturally and the rate at which carbon is being absorbed, the concentration of carbonic acid is increasing. This has overwhelming concerns, particularly for shelled creatures. Animals such as corals, crabs, and calms need calcium carbonate to build their shells. Calcium Carbonate is dissolved by carbonic acid and consequently these animals are incapable of maintaining casings of calcium. Bio geosciences in 2010, suggested that carbon confiscation by oceans and land is lessening, which has the potential to further worsen the impact of carbon emissions.
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Carbon dioxide disturbs ecosystems candidly, both positively and negatively. On land it increases growth in various trees and plants, an influence occasionally called ‘CO2 fertilisation’. Absorption of CO2 into the oceans triggers ‘ocean acidification’, obstructing shell formation by organisms like corals and affecting coral deterioration or
"Oceans." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 8 May 2014.
Climate change and Global Warming are out of control. This means that, no matter what policies, processes or actions are implemented, the Earth as we know it will never be the same again. There is significant evidence to support this hypothesis. The dilemma becomes whether we can limit the damage and adapt to a new status quo or not. Rising sea levels and the damage caused by this phenomenon has irreversible impacts on coastlines worldwide. Damage to sensitive reef systems cannot be fixed. This also has permanent impacts of the ecology not just of those immediate areas but also the ocean as a whole.
Oceans are such so vast that people underestimate the impact their actions —seeming so insignificant— have on them. Humans have by and large taken the oceans for granted; not considering how important a healthy ocean is to our survival. A popular mind-set is that the oceans are a bottomless supply of fish, natural resources, and an infinite waste dump. There are myriad reasons why the oceans should be saved and the most obvious one is marine life. With 71% of the Earth being covered by water, it is obvious that sea creatures are predominant form of life, making up 80% of the species of life on Earth. However, as important as marine life is, that is not the only reason why saving the oceans is crucial. The ocean floor provides natural resources such as, oil, natural gas, petroleum, minerals, medications, and ingredients for foods and products. The economic benefits of the oceans are huge and significant, as well. Fishing and fish products have provided employment to 38 million people and have generated about $124 billion in economic benefits. However, oceans are on the verge of crisis, marine life, natural resources, transportation, the economy, and important ingredients are at risk due to overfishing, pollution, and acidification. Thus, in this essay I will argue that, oceans are not impervious to human activity and threatening the health of the ocean threatens the health of humanity, since oceans key to our survival.
Phytoplanktons are a very important part of ocean life. The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is in balance with carbon dioxide in the ocean. During photosynthesis, phyto...
Bowermaster, Jon. Oceans: The Threats to Our Seas and What You Can Do to Turn the Tide: A Participant Media Guide. New York: PublicAffairs, 2010. Print.
...ut slowly uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (Zepp, & Sonntag, 1995). Hanson, Ducklow and Field (2000) mention that in the ocean, some of the carbon taken up by phytoplankton in order to make shells of calcium carbonate that settles to the bottom of the sea to form sediments. In geological carbon cycle, carbonic acid combines with magnesium and calcium in the Earth's crust to form insoluble carbonates. Carbon dioxide reacts with some minerals to form limestone, then dissolves by rainwater and carries to the oceans. Once there, it can precipitate out of the ocean water and form layer of sediments on the sea floor. The limestone melts and reacts with other minerals under high heat and pressure far below the Earth's surface by releasing carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is then back into the atmosphere through volcanic eruptions (Lockwood, & Hazlett, 2010).
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