Ocean pollution may save the world from global warming

So ready for the new headache talking point that has a bit of reality behind it.

from the source
Scientific American

Humans May Be Accidentally Geoengineering the Oceans

It seems the iron we have been kicking up into the atmosphere from industrialization is coming back down and into the oceans. This is actually a good thing overall for those of us concerned about the carbon dioxide levels rising and turning the atmosphere into something akin to the microwave popcorn steam that burns your fingers.

Iron is one of the key nutrients that tiny phytoplankton organisms in the ocean need to thrive. In regions where its levels are limited, adding more iron to the water can give plankton a boost, potentially altering both marine food webs and the ocean’s carbon uptake.

In fact, this phenomenon is the basis for a controversial geoengineering concept that some scientists have proposed to tackle climate change. Known as “iron fertilization,” the idea involves adding iron to certain remote regions of the ocean where iron nutrients tend to be limited. Doing so could promote the growth of phytoplankton, which naturally suck up carbon dioxide.

Soooo, more iron, more phytoplankton. More phoyoplankton, more little carbon dioxide scrubbers.

Cool thing is, nothing wants to eat the little guys (I imagine they taste like a burned ashtray with all that stuff in em) so when they die, they just sink to the bottom of the ocean and become part of the seafloor, trapping the dioxide forever

When the phytoplankton die, those that don’t get eaten by other animals fall through the water column and become trapped at the bottom of the sea, effectively locking away the stored-up carbon for good.

So there you have it, megacorp industralists have been more green than AOC has been, and capitalism is the key to solving all the worlds problems.
I only say that half ironically.

I think its good that we found this out, and it seems we may have the tools needed to start an earnest fight to control and stablize the environment through geoengineering.

So the article explains a lot more of course and its not obviously as cut and dry as just go start chucking all your iron into the ocean to feel better about the world, but it does seem we are on to something here to at least combat part of it...and the kicker is, industrial iron is more concentrated and works better than natural sources (a desert tossing dust and iron into a nearby sea for instance will help the sea nearby, but our purified concentrated stuff is the real good stuff for the critters)

So, voila...looking forward to this being the cheer for all politicians trying to deregulate pollution as them just wanting to be the super awesome environmentalists....and able to look in the mirror afterwards.

a reply to: SaturnFX

Well, now i don’t feel bad about spray painting graffiti on that dolphin. In a small way, i was helping.

a reply to: SaturnFX

If geo-engineering is to become an option, it appears future studies of these effects are critical and extremely cost-effective.

But as you rightly pointed out it’ll be a headache and the below illustrates it perfectly:

These effects could become even more pronounced in the future, as increased industrialization across the Asian continent and parts of the Southern Hemisphere produces more air pollution, said Douglas Hamilton, a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University and a co-author on the new study.

I don’t believe the study’s authors are advocating for more pollution, but simply pointing the possibility for increased benefits in mitigating carbon releases and studying the effects; however some will point to the above and construe to suggest climate change researchers advocate for increased air pollution in SE Asia. C’est la vie.

originally posted by: Woodcarver
a reply to: SaturnFX

Well, now i don’t feel bad about spray painting graffiti on that dolphin. In a small way, i was helping.

Yeah but, you got that dolphin beat up by a gang of Orcas later that evening. I mean, spray painting "Save the Tuna!" on it was a little bit of an appropriation of the whole whale struggle, man...

a reply to: SaturnFX

Does this, however, help the situation of massive plastic islands larger than Texas in the oceans gyres? With miles of toxic particulate matter filtering down into the core of the food chain, ensuring we reap the benefits, in the end?

Swings and roundabouts, I spose..

If anyone, no matter how smart or educated, even if they are absolutely the best for the job, tries geoengineering to fix what they think is a problem on planet Earth, they will end up making things worse due to unintended consequences. No one person, or group of people, using the best technology and data available, can possible know all the variables involved in a geoengineering project. It is too unpredictable and too massive an undertaking to ensure that it won't cause more problems than it cures.

With everything humans know, we still can't seem to comprehend or deal with the basic issues that cause the biggest problems for us. Humans think we know it all and can come up with a simple and cheap solution, but we actually know very little and nothing is simple or cheap. We can't go changing the world to suit our perceived idea of what is best for us, we need to change and adapt to the world or go extinct.

We vastly overrate our superiority and importance in the bigger picture and have become our own worst enemy. In order to deal with our problems we have to deal with ourselves first by taming our incredible ego and being more humble about the world around us. If we can't control ourselves, what makes us think we can control the whole world? Look at the bio-dome project, a complete failure. If we can't control a small closed environment to suit our needs, there is no way we are going to have control over the whole Earth biosphere. Geoengineering is doomed to fail and would likely contribute to our own demise.

originally posted by: gallop

originally posted by: Woodcarver
a reply to: SaturnFX

Well, now i don’t feel bad about spray painting graffiti on that dolphin. In a small way, i was helping.

Yeah but, you got that dolphin beat up by a gang of Orcas later that evening. I mean, spray painting "Save the Tuna!" on it was a little bit of an appropriation of the whole whale struggle, man...

I may be a Jackass, but horses say the silliest things

a reply to: SaturnFX

Hmmm, a little misleading on the title, but considering so many likely would think of iron as a pollutant, it's understandable. If iron were a pollutant, there would not be a natural process to filter it out.

Really, it's kinda hard to find something that would truly pollute the oceans. Plastic is probably the best-known substance that qualifies unequivocably as a pollutant, and of course there are several rare earth metals and reactive metals (including aluminum and mercury) that would qualify. Iron, though? Nah, not unless it's in massive quantities.

The ocean, after all, is nature's waste reclamation center. The beaches are nature's waste dump. Think about that the next time you are sitting on that pure, white, pristine sand stretching for miles... when we create a waste dump, we call it a "landfill" and it is toxic to any life for hundreds of years. When nature creates a waste dump, we call it a "beach" and flock there in droves to enjoy it.

Good find, though, and a perfect illustration of how little we really know about the climate of the planet. Flag for you, OP!

TheRedneck

originally posted by: TheRedneck
a reply to: SaturnFX

Hmmm, a little misleading on the title,

The title isn't really misleading.
The find is iron helps the growth of helpful plankton that scrubs carbon dioxide
the evidence also finds the best growth comes from industrial formed iron over natural, meaning it is a benefit from mankinds meddling...so, at best, the title might be a bit exaggerated considering it isn't going to solve all the issues, but it seems to certainly help with one major issue of modern lifestyle.

What Global Warming? I thought the term became obsolete and was replaced with Climate Change. Geeez people really get brainwashed so easy

a reply to: SaturnFX

We really, really, need those [sarcasm]/[/sarcasm] tags...

TheRedneck

originally posted by: visitedbythem

originally posted by: gallop

originally posted by: Woodcarver
a reply to: SaturnFX

Well, now i don’t feel bad about spray painting graffiti on that dolphin. In a small way, i was helping.

Yeah but, you got that dolphin beat up by a gang of Orcas later that evening. I mean, spray painting "Save the Tuna!" on it was a little bit of an appropriation of the whole whale struggle, man...

I may be a Jackass, but horses say the silliest things

Neeeigh!!!

Now I don't feel so bad about sinking that old car in the river.

originally posted by: Homefree
Now I don't feel so bad about sinking that old car in the river.

Yeah but you g... oh never mind, didn't work the first time..

Lol