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A proposal from
the 80’s suggested a scheme to remove carbon from the ocean surface and
deposit it deep in the ocean. More carbon dioxide could then be dissolved at
the surface. Essentially, the ocean is fertilized with iron to increase
plankton growth which would then sink.
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One test
illustrated here did create a bloom of . The figure on the left allegedly
shows it. The plot of chlorophyll concentration on the right works better for
me. Adding a few tonnes of iron did stimulate much growth. The plankton produced did not sink in this
test.
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A test reported
last month did produce sinking plankton. The press release suggests “billions
of tonnes of carbon dioxide could be removed from the atmosphere each year”.
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Much more
development work needs to be done to demonstrate the practicality of this
initiative. If it works, and we decide
to control atmospheric greenhouse gases, another new energy using industry
could evolve to mine and spread iron over the ocean simply to remove carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere.
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