For information on ocean fertilization schemes with iron in particular, see Iron fertilization.
CO 2 sequestration in the ocean
Ocean fertilization or ocean nourishment is a type of technology for carbon dioxide removal from the ocean based on the purposeful introduction of plant nutrients to the upper ocean to increase marine food production and to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.[1][2] Ocean nutrient fertilization, for example iron fertilization, could stimulate photosynthesis in phytoplankton. The phytoplankton would convert the ocean's dissolved carbon dioxide into carbohydrate, some of which would sink into the deeper ocean before oxidizing. More than a dozen open-sea experiments confirmed that adding iron to the ocean increases photosynthesis in phytoplankton by up to 30 times.[3]
This is one of the more well-researched carbon dioxide removal (CDR) approaches, however this approach would only sequester carbon on a timescale of 10-100 years[clarification needed]dependent on ocean mixing times. While surface ocean acidity may decrease as a result of nutrient fertilization, when the sinking organic matter remineralizes, deep ocean acidity will increase. A 2021 report on CDR indicates that there is medium-high confidence that the technique could be efficient and scalable at low cost, with medium environmental risks.[4] One of the key risks of nutrient fertilization is nutrient robbing, a process by which excess nutrients used in one location for enhanced primary productivity, as in a fertilization context, are then unavailable for normal productivity downstream.[clarification needed] This could result in ecosystem impacts far outside the original site of fertilization.[4]
A number of techniques, including fertilization by the micronutrient iron (called iron fertilization) or with nitrogen and phosphorus (both macronutrients), have been proposed. But research in the early 2020s suggested that it could only permanently sequester a small amount of carbon.[5]
^Matear, R. J. & B. Elliott (2004). "Enhancement of oceanic uptake of anthropogenic CO2 by macronutrient fertilization". J. Geophys. Res. 109 (C4): C04001. Bibcode:2004JGRC..109.4001M. doi:10.1029/2000JC000321. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
^Jones, I.S.F. & Young, H.E. (1997). "Engineering a large sustainable world fishery". Environmental Conservation. 24 (2): 99–104. doi:10.1017/S0376892997000167. S2CID 86248266.
^Trujillo, Alan (2011). Essentials of Oceanography. Pearson Education, Inc. p. 157. ISBN 9780321668127.
^ abNational Academies of Sciences, Engineering (8 December 2021). A Research Strategy for Ocean-based Carbon Dioxide Removal and Sequestration. doi:10.17226/26278. ISBN 978-0-309-08761-2. PMID 35533244. S2CID 245089649.
^"Cloud spraying and hurricane slaying: how ocean geoengineering became the frontier of the climate crisis". The Guardian. 23 June 2021. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
and 28 Related for: Ocean fertilization information
Oceanfertilization or ocean nourishment is a type of technology for carbon dioxide removal from the ocean based on the purposeful introduction of plant...
iron-deficient ocean waters. These blooms can nourish other organisms. Ocean iron fertilization is an example of a geoengineering technique. Iron fertilization attempts...
: 115 There are also CDR methods that use oceans and other water bodies. Those are called oceanfertilization, ocean alkalinity enhancement, wetland restoration...
to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Ocean nutrient fertilization, for example iron fertilization, could stimulate photosynthesis in phytoplankton...
The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approx. 70.8% of Earth. In English, the term ocean also refers to any of the large bodies of water into...
warming waters; ocean acidification will add additional stress on these important structures. Full article: Iron Fertilization Iron fertilization is a facet...
"Canada's oceanfertilization flap, and its significance". Legal Planet. October 18, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2022. "B.C. village's oceanfertilization experiment...
(2000). "A mesoscale phytoplankton bloom in the polar Southern Ocean stimulated by fertilization". Nature. 407 (6805): 695–702. Bibcode:2000Natur.407..695B...
deep ocean. These efforts have not yet produced a sustainable fertilization that effectively transports carbon out of the system. Increases in ocean temperatures...
stabilization, ocean liming, and iron fertilization of oceans. The latter would modify carbon sequestration processes that take place in oceans. Some types...
settles. Factors such as climate change, fishing practices, and oceanfertilization have a substantial effect on patterns of primary production in the...
hypothesis CPR Diel vertical migration f-ratio Marine primary production Oceanfertilization iron Paradox of the plankton Planktivore Planktology Thin layers...
microorganisms living in a marine environment, that is, in the saltwater of a sea or ocean or the brackish water of a coastal estuary. A microorganism (or microbe)...
currents. Consequently, they drift or are carried along by currents in the ocean, or by currents in seas, lakes or rivers. Zooplankton can be contrasted...
S2CID 25620329. Schindler, David and Vallentyne, John R. (2004) Over fertilization of the World's Freshwaters and Estuaries, University of Alberta Press...
English: Milky seas), also called mareel, is a luminous phenomenon in the ocean in which large areas of seawater (up to 6,000 sq mi or 16,000 km2) appear...
LOHAFEX was an ocean iron fertilization experiment jointly planned by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in India and the Helmholtz...
taken up by the females for fertilization. Other species release both sperm and egg to increase the likelihood of fertilization. Environmental, mechanical...
"biological pump", a process by which the ocean ecosystem transports carbon from the surface euphotic zone to the ocean's depths. Such processes are vital to...
efficiency of iron fertilization has slowed such experiments. Phytoplankton depend on B vitamins for survival. Areas in the ocean have been identified...
the oceans. The shells of dead diatoms can reach as much as a half-mile (800 m) deep on the ocean floor, and the entire Amazon basin is fertilized annually...
oceanfertilization, artificial upwelling, and basalt storage. The deep blue carbon terminology has been used in passing as early as 2017. The Ocean Frontier...
cyanobacteria. Within the cyanobacteria, only a few lineages colonized the open ocean: Crocosphaera and relatives, cyanobacterium UCYN-A, Trichodesmium, as well...
Massett band of Haida Gwaii. The company conducted a small scale oceanfertilization experiment in 2012. 120 tons of iron compound were deposited in the...
usually made of silica. They are found as zooplankton throughout the global ocean. As zooplankton, radiolarians are primarily heterotrophic, but many have...
The ocean sunfish or common mola (Mola mola) is one of the largest bony fish in the world. It is the type species of the genus Mola, and one of five extant...
larval dispersal. Most species within the meroplankton community rely on ocean currents for dispersal. Currents play a key role in delivering larval organisms...
Global Information