Ocean Iron Fertilization

What are ocean scientists doing to employ iron fertilization? In the 1990s and early 2000s, a series of experiments tested iron fertilization in the open ocean. These tests consistently found that adding iron led to phytoplankton blooms, However, the extent to which that carbon sank to the depths wasn’t always measured, and the phytoplankton were not able to use all of the iron for growth before the mineral sank. Researchers did document changes in phytoplankton communities, with diatoms becoming more abundant than many other types of phytoplankton. These algae can be up to 1,000 times larger than cyanobacteria, allowing them to take up more carbon dioxide via photosynthesis. Diatoms create silica-based glass-like shells that add weight, increasing the likelihood that they will sink faster than other, smaller phytoplankton when they die. Their fast growth rates and loss to the deep sea bodes well for potential removal of carbon from the atmosphere and its sequestration deeper in the ... Read full article.