Experiment to sink carbon into ocean AN Indo-German experiment to induce a green algal bloom on the surface of the South Atlantic Ocean has been called off for the time being following protests from environmentalists. Scientists with the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Germany and the National Institute of Oceanography (nio) in Goa were trying to prove that algae
The addition of iron to high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll regions induces phytoplankton blooms that take up carbon. Carbon export from the surface layer and, in particular, the ability of the ocean and sediments to sequester carbon for many years remains, however, poorly quantified3.
New Delhi: Ending days of suspense and anxiety for the Indo-German team of scientists sailing in the cold and desolate waters off Antarctica, the German government on Monday gave the go-ahead to a controversial ocean-seeding experiment that experts say could lead to a way of fighting global warming.
A German research ship laden with 20 tonnes of iron sulphate has whipped up a storm of protest as it sails towards the Antarctic, where it intends to dump its cargo into the ocean late this week.
THIRUVANTHAPURAM: The Indian Biodiversity Forum has protested against the involvement of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in the expedition to fertilise sea near Antarctica with iron sulphate.
An international body has for the first time placed restrictions on experiments designed to fertilize large swaths of the world's oceans with a view to combating global warming.
It all seemed too easy by half: to beat global warming just sprinkle some iron in the ocean, then watch as algae bloom en masse, sucking up carbon dioxide by the tonne. Now the idea is looking increasingly unlikely to go ahead in a big way. In the wake of a UN moratorium on the practice, the latest research suggests that seeding will trigger the build-up of an acid that can be lethal to marine organisms and humans.
