May 1, 2004
IRONIC, NO? (via Tom Morin):
Pumping Iron (Russell Seitz, 04/28/2004, Tech Central Station)
[I]ron as a limiting factor in ocean biomass growth was recognized a century ago, and by 1990 the late oceanographer Brian Martin proposed the first of a series of small and large scale experiments in ocean fertilization that have continued since, growing in scope and controversy over the last decades.The latest results, just published in Nature, respond to criticisms skeptics raised at the very idea of reducing atmospheric CO2 by raising the iron level of sterile expanses of cold salt water far offshore. It indeed appears that circumpolar waters that lack only iron run-off from the land might be turned into the equivalent of offshore national forests that sequester carbon in seas instead of trees.
Many greens screamed that the very idea was a snare and a distraction, diverting the world from the canonical solution of curbing energy consumption and taxing or rationing fossil fuels. It was one of the rare instances in which National Review, not The Nation, came to the fore as an early advocate of innovative intervention in curbing climate change -- the first experiments in the Pacific were hailed under the rubric 'Thar She Grows'.
Questions were raised as to what would become of carbon caught up in marine plant life when the phytoplankton died or was eaten, and it took years to even begin to answer them. But the scope and sophistication of the latest round of experiments has revealed that Martin's conjecture was sound -- a mere trace of iron dispersed in the biologically least productive waters of the open sea can unlock the treasure trove of and upwelling nitrogen, phosphate other natural nutrients that would otherwise go to waste and create a thriving community of microscopic plants and animals that can in turn support a burgeoning food chain.
Posted by Orrin Judd at May 1, 2004 7:44 AM
It would work except that the Carbon Dioxide is the only thing holding back the Ice Age, they were predicting in the 70's when I was a little kid.
Posted by: AML at May 1, 2004 11:19 AMAML:
Have you seen the recent article in the journal Climatic Change titled:
"The Antropogenic Greenhouse Era Began Thousands of Years Ago" (click and scroll down to most viewed articles)
The author claims to have discovered a cylical variation in CO2 in past ice-age cycles which suggests that the level should be **much lower** than it is currently, and that this departure from the normal behavior began about 8000 yrs. ago, which he suggests was due to the agricultural revolution and the deforestation which accompanied it.
Posted by: jd watson at May 1, 2004 12:16 PMOpposition by the Greens to this kind of innovative solution proves two things: 1) that their true target is capitalism, not global warming, and 2)solutions not developed by themselves are not we3lcome.
Posted by: Robert Duquette at May 2, 2004 10:58 AMRobert's on the right track and AML they are still predicting we are et the beginning of a cooling cycle that will lead to an, hopefully minor, ice age.
Perhaps the UN could manage the control of seawater iron/CO2 levels to stretch out the cycle we're currently in. Koffe Annan could put his son right on it.
Michael Chrichton(SP?) thinks GW is caused by extra-terrestials. The Russians think it's the Jews and the bicyclists. I think it's the smokers.
Posted by: genecis at May 2, 2004 3:55 PMAre you sure about Crichton? He made a speech a year or two ago ridiculing the GW fantasies, but it was entirely rational and scientific.
During the deepest cold of the Ice Ages, the carbon dioxide levels came within a few parts per billion of being insufficient to support life on Earth. Not a parameter I'd want to mess with unless I was absolutely sure how the system works -- and we're a long way from that.
Since carbon dioxide represents only about 1/14th of greenhouse gases, this messing around with iron , even if very efficient on its own terms, would not necessarily have much effect on global climate.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at May 2, 2004 6:23 PM