Got into a heated discussion related to CO2 and Phytoplankton depletion yesterday.. Thought I might post my comments here on this thread as well for review.. Pay special attention to the links at the top, which seem to demonstrate a direct correlation between phytoplanton depletion and CO2 increases over the past 60 years..
>>Let me post those critical two links again, as they are vitally important to understanding the "untold" truth about rising CO2 levels.
scientificamerican.com
climate.nasa.gov
The latter is asserting evidence about the rise of CO2 by nearly 30% since 1950, while the first link demonstrates that Oceanic Phytoplankton have diminished by 40% since 1950..
Basic logic DEMANDS that the two be correlated, IMO.
One does not have to be a climate scientist to understand the significance of those two scientific facts and their relation to one another.
I'm not a Climate Scientist, nor do I pretend to me. My background is National Security policy and International Affairs, which Global Warming certainly falls under. It is both an international issue, as well as a national security threat... if it is found to be credible.
But we're asking the wrong questions about rising CO2 levels. We need to be asking why the oceanic phyto-plankton are decreasing while CO2 levels upon when they should be thriving, are increasing.
The late Dr. John Martin, of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in California, hypothesized that the problem may lay in the lack of trace iron in the oceans inhibiting the growth of phyto-plankton in areas that they refer to as High Nitrogen/Low Chlorophyll (HN/LC) zones. These zones have all the other elements required for the growth of Phyto-plankton, yet they were effectively oceanic "deserts", devoid of marine life.
palomar.edu
Anyone who tends to their lawns knows that we have to fertilize them to replace vital nutrients. And to make your grass greener, you need Iron or Chlorosis will result.
facebook.com
I added Iron augmented fertilizer to my mother's lawn last spring and it TRULY made it greener. So I know it's true.
But what about iron in the oceans? It's a trace element, and because it's heavier than water, it sinks to the bottom over time. Therefore, normal sources of surface iron are caused by upwellings of nutrients from the bottom. They also result from volcanic eruptions, as well as wind-borne erosion. But soil conservation efforts may be interrupting the supply of Iron being deposited by the winds (just an hypothesis)..
But whatever the causation, the truth is nearly indisputable that Iron levels are declining in the global oceans, inhibiting the production of Chlorophyll so necessary for photo-synthesis. Declining phyto-plankton levels then directly impact the marine food chain, limiting fish populations (as well as Whales, which directly feed on Zooplankton, the most direct consumer of phyto-plankton).
So if we think of the oceans as a depleted lawn, lacking the necessary trace iron to make it green, it is a compelling idea that maybe we should be augmenting oceanic iron levels in order to sequester excess CO2. It's controversial, and many oceanographers are nearly hysterical about not permitting it to happen, citing unknown risks.. But, by god, there are greater risks to the marine food chain if we don't do it, IMO.
I see iron fertilization research as a win-win scenario, with no downside. It can be stopped as easily as stopping the fertilization of one's lawn.... leaving it to whither and die again.. So it's controllable, and more importantly, REVERSIBLE.. The worst thing that happens if it doesn't result in lower CO2 levels is that we're feeding the fish..
And I truly love my Sushi... ;)
Recently, an Indian tribe, attempting to restore salmon populations assisted the former CEO of Planktos, too seed a patch of ocean with several tons of Iron Sulphate.. They have had REMARKABLE results, but some people are REALLY pissed off that they did it...
nature.com
For every Iron atom in the oceans, it's estimated that 13,000 carbon atoms sink to the ocean floor..
livescience.com
That's a lot of carbon!! Yet, the climate community continues to pour Billions (and are proposing spending TRILLIONS) of dollars on limiting and controlling the emission of CO2, to the complete disregard of depleted phyto-plankton and marine fisheries.
Listen.. even if it does nothing to resolve the CO2 issue, it's vitally important to sustain our marine fisheries that so many populations depend upon for survival, not to mention avoiding extinction of various marine life forms due to starvation.
It's certainly an area of research that deserves FAR MORE attention than has been permitted to date.<< |
