July 19, 2012

Trapping carbon with iron



Translated by Glenn Ostling

(July 19, 2012) Iron fertilising of the oceans can make plankton draw more carbon dioxide down to the seabed for long-term storage.

Trillions of miniscule algae in seawater are constantly removing CO2 from the atmosphere.  Such algae blooms consist of unicellular phytoplankton that break down molecules of the climate gas through photosynthesis, releasing oxygen. When they die, many of them sink to the seabed, along with the carbon they have assimilated.