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A now-defunct California company back in 2007 attempted to fertilize the ocean off the coast of Ecuador with iron to prod plankton to grow. Such a bloom, it proclaimed, would suck up carbon dioxide (CO₂) and then send it to the ocean floor as the one-celled plants died and sank. The company, Planktos, sank last year before that could ever happen. But new research suggests that its CEO Russ George and his ilk may have been on to something: plankton blooms do eliminate more CO₂ than regular growth.

Raymond Pollard of the U.K.'s National Oceanography Center in Southampton and his colleagues observed the natural plankton blooms near the Crozet Islands some 1,400 miles (2,200 kilometers) southeast of South Africa, near Antarctica. The waters to the north of the islands are enriched with iron from their volcanic rocks and, each spring, a more than 46,000 square mile (120,000 square kilometer) bloom blossoms.

By dragging a sensor through the surface and deep water, researchers measured increases in the organic carbon matter (dead plankton) at depths of 328 feet (100 meters) and 9,842 feet (3,000 meters) as much as three times as high as in areas to the south of the islands with much smaller, unfertilized blooms. That means as much as three times more of the CO₂ was being absorbed and sent to the bottom of the ocean—some 25 millimoles of organic carbon versus the typical seven millimoles.

That said, even plankton entombing 25 millimoles of carbon and sending it to the watery depths is much smaller than previous estimates, such as those from Planktos—just 5 percent of the CO₂ being absorbed at the surface. "It still falls 15 to 50 times short of some geo-engineering estimates," Pollard writes in Nature.

And, of all the possible geoengineering schemes—from launching mirrors into space to planting trees—it delivers the smallest bang for the buck even at those high estimates, according to a new analysis from earth scientist Tim Lenton of the University of East Anglia in England. Further, countries that have signed the London Convention governing international behavior in the open sea dismissed ocean fertilization because of its minimal impact on climate change and potential side effects.

Neverthelesss, the Germans, for one, are attempting it right now. The Polarstern in Antarctic waters will soon begin dumping 20 tons of iron sulfate into an area of 116 square miles (300 square kilometers) with an eddy current and studying the results for some 40 days, as part of an experiment for the Alfred Wegener Institute.

Credit: © R. T. Pollard

9 Comments

1. 1. dezzir 05:42 PM 1/28/09

   The mission of National Institute of Oceanography of India, and the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (Germany) mentioned in this article has run into some trouble with the environmentalists.

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2. 2. hotblack 06:48 PM 1/28/09

   Funny how this works. We screw up this ecosystem over here, and try to remedy by changing that one, which screws up another one, which we try to fix by screwing up our fresh water ecology, which we rely on to keep the crops irrigated and on and on and on it goes. The way to fix our environmental problems, and that is to let nature recover at its pace, over a long period of time, not by forcing it to on our watch. Personally, I'm starting to have less sympathy for our stupid species. When it posions, starves, infects, or otherwise destroys etself, whatever is left of life on earth will finally get its hard-won chance to rejuvenate itself.

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3. 3. josepheuphoric 08:53 PM 1/28/09

   Once again a very and I mean very simple minded approach to oceanic ecology. I have a degree in marine ecology, so maybe I know a little. The ramifications of destroying the natural oceanic balance will if I may say bite you on the ---! Look up ocean dead zones, big dead zones, killing off all life, except anerobic (read no oxygen). These are due primarily to agricultural fertilizer run off. Wiil you kill off the oceans because the oil companies want you to remain "addicted" to and burning petroleum products. Again, look up ocean dead zones and repent.

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4. 4. Ralf123 09:01 PM 1/28/09

   Iron Fertilization To Capture Carbon Dioxide Dealt A Blow: Plankton Stores Much Less Carbon Dioxide Than Estimated
   http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090128183744.htm
   

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5. 5. Shoshin 03:21 PM 1/29/09

   This is ridiculous. The Germans dumping toxic waste into the ocean, and that is no big deal, and Obama deeming CO2 to be "poisonous". I am stunned by the garbage that is passing for science and environmental stewardship. The Earth warming, that is evidence of AGW; the Earth cools,that is also evidence of AGW. So we should send big mirrors into space, paint the planet white and poison the oceans.
   
   I think we've now entered into Superman's Bizarro World.

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6. 6. Russ George 07:46 PM 1/29/09

   Thanks to SciAm for the recognition that I might have been "on to something "with our 2007 Planktos R&D efforts. Notably the project we had planned for years and attempted to execute with our multi-national research team was virtually identical to the one now underway aboard the EU flagship PolarStern. Planktos Corp. was indeed torpedoed by the cacophony of misinformation on this vital work spread by disparate and desperate dark greens who conspired in efforts smacking of racketeering to misinform the media, public, and governments about our efforts to help study what might be needed to restore ocean plankton blooms. BuPlanktos Science is now reborn as a private company continuing our decades long effort on behalf of the eco-restoration of SEAS and TREES. Read more on our website at www.planktos-science.com.
   
   On this topic keep in mind that the oceans receive hundreds of millions of tonnes of natural iron rich mineral dust blowing in the wind each year. These natural minerals, just like the materials used by us and those upon PolarStern, sustain ocean plant life, stimulate, and replenish plankton blooms and all of life in the seas. As well iron from natural island sources like those mentioned in this article, and like the million tonnes of iron from the Galapagos Islands, produce rich natural marine oases sustaining sea life and biodiversity and reducing the acidifying impact of CO2. Our project, of which some dark green NGO's boast they killed but rather only delayed, had planned to deliver the same few tens of tonnes of iron mineral dust as Polarstern into the Eastern Atlantic where 500 million tonnes of natural mineral dust rains from North Africa every year, barely sustaining dwindling plant life in the Atlantic.
   
   Question and deny the hysterical anti-science mania of those who oppose replenishing vital mineral micronutrients human society environmental change has imposed upon the oceans which is resulting in cataclysmic ocean acidification and productivity declines.
   
   Don't let the dark green lies and the liars who tell them get away with smearing the superb efforts of the scientists aboard Polarstern. Take note that this new round of dark green bile derives from their widely proclaimed opposition to allowing restored SEAS and TREES from growing carbon offsets to help mitigate global climate change. Reject their single minded luddite remedy of simply stopping the use of energy as the fund raising gimmick it is.
   
   Save every bit of energy you can but also grow as many plants as you can by restoring our SEAS and TREES.

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7. 7. elizabeth 11:07 PM 1/31/09

   ughh. unfortunately i need that iron for MY diet. i dont know if its in plentiful supply. but it is essential for a vegan to get their iron supplements, if they cant find it in ironrich foods. this diet is important due to our global interdependence regarding food provision and the issue of declining fresh water reserves. famine happen somewhere on the globe every year. why? the iron that we have readily available should not be dumped into the ocean so that it can settle to the bottom and be more difficult to access. perhaps they can use that iron to grow blue green algae blooms for consumption closer to direct CO2 output. well, perhaps it will be an interesting study though. only if it happens once. on a small scale. how much iron is available these days? waste not want not.

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8. 8. madman 07:34 PM 2/4/09

   To me what the majority of people are missing is that it is too late! There is no point huffing and puffing over what is inevitable. Wheather it be THC shutdown or roast and flood, we simply have to prepare and adapt.
   The case to minimise the condition will be born through the use of Hydrogen, however this although harmless will increase global humidity and precipitation over time and the effects of more cloud cover could itself lead to more trapped heat........ So from that point we look to the future of energy and that is He3 (Heavy Helium) This is extremely rare but is abundant on the moon and will be used in fusion reactors making nuclear fision redundant and is relatively harmless.
   What does bother me is that I believe we are heading for THC shutdown but not in centuries or multi-decadal but between now and the next 10 years. It was noted a few years back in a specific region that 8 out of 12 drop zone colums had ceased cold saline water decent in the North Atlantic by a Harry Bryden now performing research on behalf of Benfield Hazard Research Centre. Next thing you know the U.K Government jumps on the environmental wagon. Why? I detect a cover up! I believe it is happing now, the North Atlantic Trade Winds have deminished as is obvious by the volume of Northerly winds we are receiving here in the UK and the Jetstream has remained over and to the south of UK as the normal ocean current has decreased and as such the wind that it drives from the South West is waining and it usualy pushed the jetstream further north. Further more as this current is weakening it would be obvious to say that hurricane Seasons over the US will become worse as the water in the Gulf of mexico is not flowing northward to the same degree and as such greater heat and humidity is developing and intensifying tropical storms.
   There is another factor which new research is uncovering....The Solar Cycle. It has been believed for many years that solar magnetic activity has no bearing on the Earths weather. However heatwaves over europe over the past three decades just happened to coincide with Solar maximum. We are at Solar min' at the moment and I therefor expect this year and the following to be extremley cold over the UK and Europe with 2011/ 2012 to be warming. When we reach next solar minimum I expect the freeze to kick in properly...... I am no expert, but neither will I ignore simple observation and I can only ask that you carry out your own research and act accordingly......

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9. 9. vikingcoconut 06:55 PM 3/10/09

   i wonder what effect this will have on other sea life. if it will hurt any other sea creature in the areas.

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