Most Sensitive Area For Iron Fertilization Experiments example essay topic

"Ironing" out Carbon Dioxide Carbon Dioxide plays a key role in the atmosphere. This gas has properties that allow it to sustain and hold in heat, which in turn warms the planet (EIA, 2004). Carbon, the primary component of carbon dioxide; is also the essential molecule for life and is the most basic building block found in all organic compounds. Human activities been blamed for the disruption of the earth's natural carbon cycles and according to some studies, carbon is being added to the atmosphere faster than the natural processes that sequestrate it. The massive carbon sinks that naturally regulated and fixated excess carbon dioxide have been destroyed as humans have deforested ancient forests for the sake of building their cities and supplying lands for agriculture. Research shows that there has been a consistent balance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for the past 10,000 years (Hamburg, Harris et al 1999); this balance has shifted rapidly in the last 150 years.

The Problem Carbon dioxide, produced through combustion and oxidation has become a growing concern in today's society. In industrialized countries greenhouse gases and the effects on our environment are becoming an issue that no longer can be ignored. Changes such as increasing temperatures, the melting of the Arctic ice cap, rising sea levels, and more violent weather activities (hurricanes, droughts, and hotter / longer summers) are becoming more and more evident with each decade. The rapid increase of carbon dioxide appears to be a key component of the in the development of these occurrences, however global warming has sparked much debate because the data that has been collected over the past century has conflicting trends (plankton. com, 2004). It is difficult to predict the behavior of the earth's climate because it is ever changing and erratic, much to the chagrin of scientific modelers; the earth's climate refuses to adhere to computer models. Historically temperatures have fluctuated on the surface of the planet; however, with new technology and satellite data collection, conflicts in data have caused scientists to rethink their conclusions on the causes of these temperature fluctuations.

What can be proven is that humans are affecting the planet in adverse ways. Mass deforestation, burning of fossil fuels and the introduction of unnatural gases into the atmosphere is resulting in changes. Scientists are grappling with the question of whether human activities are solely responsible for these changes or if our industrious activities have managed to accelerate changes that would have occurred naturally but over a much longer period. One mans theory: A solution? In 1990 John Martin an Oceanographer presented the idea that phytoplankton are responsible for almost half of the photosynthesis that occurs on the earth. (Dopyra, 1996) Photosynthesis is an important part of the carbon cycle, fixating carbon from the atmosphere and releasing oxygen as a byproduct of this process.

According to Martin's theory, growth is limited by the availability of iron and if the oceans could be made more iron rich, the massive blooms of phytoplankton could fixate massive amounts of carbon dioxide without harm to the environment. Expectations ran high, and for over 10 years scientists raced to plan and execute experiments to see if his theory would provide a solution for the damage that has been done to our planet through mankind's industrialization efforts. Thousands of papers were submitted and published and experiments were carried out to determine if seeding the ocean with iron was a simple solution to a complex problem. Experiments: o The first large scale iron fertilization project was carried out in October 1993 and named Iron ex I. The experiment was carried out 250 miles southwest of the Galapagos Islands.

The research vessel Columbus Iselin seeded a 40 mile wide patch of ocean with a mixture of iron, hydrochloric acid (to bring the PH down to a level where the iron could dissolve and Sulfur (tracer to keep track of the iron). The experiment area was monitored for 9 days, after this the research team was no longer able to track the iron (it had diluted to an immeasurable level). The phytoplankton responded very well by doubling in numbers and growing at four times the normal rate, thus proving Mr. Martin's hypothesis that phytoplankton growth is limited by iron. However these results were short lived and lasted about 24 hours before the effects of the iron began to dissipate.

CO 2 levels were measured but surprisingly the amount of CO 2 taken up by the patch only measured 10% of the expected amounts leading the Chief scientist to conclude "Apparently the phytoplankton in the patch had not read the literature". Researchers from MIT also concluded that Zinc may also be a limiting factor. o In May of 1995 a second experiment (IronexII) was carried out in a similar location but under different circumstances. This time they planned to distribute the iron in three servings over the course of a longer period. Initial results looked promising, the clear deep blue sea turned green with growth and secondary feeders emerged to feed on the blooming algae. Phytoplankton reproduced, flourished, and after 10 days had added approximately 900,000 Kg of phytoplankton to the experiment area.

The scientists concluded that the 900,000 Kg of increased biomass had pulled around 2.25 million Kg of CO 2 out of the atmosphere. The experiment was considered a success, but not a solution for global warming since it was not considered practical. (climate technology. gov, 2003) o The third iron seeding effort occurred in the pristine waters of the southern ocean south of Australia. The experiment was labeled soiree and this time 15,000 liters of an iron-sulfur slurry was dumped into the waters of the southern ocean and mixed by the ship dumping the material. This resulted in an enormous bloom of phytoplankton, especially diatoms. The increase of phytoplankton reached level 10 times what is normally found in these waters and the bloom grew rapidly, much faster than the scientists had expected. It is not known if the amount of mixing, the fragile ecosystem of the southern ocean or the high winds were the cause of the spreading but the phytoplankton bloom spread outward to cover 1100 square Km.

The bloom persisted for more than 50 days and was tracked via satellite. No appreciable uptake of carbon could be measured. This experiment showed that fertilizing the southern ocean will cause the algae to bloom on a large scale. It also proved that fertilizing the southern ocean would not be useful in preventing climate change and that it would produce blooms of intensity that the southern ocean has never seen before.

Blooms of this size could destroy the delicate ecosystems and cause permanent damage to the organisms that flourish in the area. o In July 2001 the first iron enrichment experiment was carried out in the northern hemisphere. This experiment was called SEEDS and was located northeast of northern Japan in the Western Sub Artic Pacific Ocean. In this experiment 350 Kg of iron was added to the ocean in the form of Iron Sulfate. Prior to the experiment the iron levels on the surface of the experiment area were extremely low.

After the initial seeding occurred maximum growth of phytoplankton was achieved until light resulted in a second limiting factor, which effectively halted further growth. Results of this experiment showed that the Western Sub Artic Pacific may be the most sensitive area for iron fertilization experiments. A 40 fold increase in chlorophyll production was observed and large quantities of CO 2 was sequestered and drawn down to the deepest depths of the ocean. This experiment was also the first to show the effects of Iron on the available trace minerals such as zinc, copper, and cobalt. There was also an observable shift in dominant phytoplankton species which warranted further studies. All of the experiments mentioned above were conducted with the intent of determining whether seeding the ocean with iron and causing massive blooms of phytoplankton was a feasible solution to the atmospheric carbon dioxide imbalance occurring as a result of human activity.

Thus far, it can be concluded that these experiments are extensive and expensive in both man hours and resources. None of the experiments so far has evaluated the long term effects of blooms on the ecology of the experiment areas, nor have any of these experiments proven that iron seeding is an easy solution to our problems. Without further experimentation and longer more intensive studies it is not considered an economical solution. Finding solutions In April of 2001 the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography invited an international group of experts to converge and discuss the research and possibilities of utilizing ocean fertilization. The conference concluded (Aslo. org, 2001) o Achieving an ideal degree of carbon sequestration would cause a major alteration of the ecosystems involved. o There is no capability to measure and accurately verify the amount of CO 2 fixated by the experiments. o It is difficult to asses the ecological impact of ocean fertilization using only small patches. o That fertilization will most likely result in an increase of marine emissions of substances that may have unknown consequences such as the of other greenhouse contributing gases nitrous oxide, methane and di ethyl sulfide which affects cloud formation. o There is a deficiency in the understanding of how the ocean-atmosphere processes work, and what their roles are in climate regulation.

Conclusion: It remains to be seen what further research will yield in the future. With large amounts of money and mental energy being poured into research on how to easily fix the damage done to our environment it is disturbing that more research and energy is not being utilized to find solutions to the worlds need for more and more energy in our daily lives. With more vehicles and roads being built there is little relief in sight for a planet that has been so generous and forgiving of our destructive nature. Iron sequestration seems to be the preferred solution to our problem so we can continue to destroy our environment without regard to the plants and animals that thrive on this planet (Palmer, 2000). It remains to be seen how far the human race will go before it manages to destroy the very ecosystems that support it.

As evidenced by over 10 years of research finding a solution to the global warming issue is not as easy as Mr. Martin had once suggested. The ocean is the last great frontier, and little is known about the delicate systems that thrive within it. Limiting factors emerge regularly suggesting that tampering with the balance of the planets ocean ecosystems may be beyond the capabilities of humans. Phytoplankton like all other organisms has limiting factors and it is these factors that will prevent the ocean from being easily destroyed by humans. It may be best to look at ourselves, and to evaluate our ever increasing need for power (Lawrence 2002). The answers to our problems may be within reach though alterations in the way we build our cities and the types of fuels we chose to utilize.

Solving our problems by exploiting our planet may make it easier to get to work, build bigger houses or stock the local grocery store, but time has proven that humans are still a part of a delicate ecosystem that is controlled by the winds and wiles of a tiring planet. Some scientists say that the major building block of the universe is hydrogen because it's the most plentiful element, but my theory is that the universe is made out of stupidity, because it is more plentiful than hydrogen. Frank Zappa Sources cited:" American Society of Limnology and Oceanography". The Scientific and Policy Uncertainties Surrounding the Use of Ocean Fertilization to Transfer Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide to the Oceans. American Society of Limnology and Oceanography. web Dopyera, "The Iron Hypothesis" Earth, October 1996 Hamburg, Steven, Harris, Neil, et al. 1999: "How do we know that the Atmospheric Build-up of Greenhouse Gases is Due to Human Activity?" 20 October 2001 web Mark G. "Side effects of Oceanic Iron Fertilization" Science 20 September 2002 National Energy Information Center (NEC), Energy Information Administration, "Greenhouse gases, climate change and energy" Publication EI-30 web ALASDAIR.

"FOCUS PLANKTON TO THE RESCUE: the man who says he can save the planet" The Sunday Telegraph [Sydney] 23 August 2003 United States, Department of Energy. Capturing and Sequestering Carbon Dioxide DOE Document PI -0001. November 2003 web.