Algae grown to trap CO2 become feed for organisms

THE Indo-German experiment to induce algal bloom in the South Atlantic Ocean has been ruined by tiny marine organisms called zooplanktons. They ate half the algae grown by spraying a swathe of the ocean surface with iron dust.

The ocean fertilization experiment called Lohafex was carried out by scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute and the National Institute of Oceanography (nio), Goa, to test the efficacy of algae in absorbing carbon to counter climate change impact. Environmentalists opposed the experiment from the start saying it violated UN moratorium on ocean fertilization (see