Scientist sets sights on UAE to save planet (Global Warming Solution)

[JCMach1]

Dubai: A scientist from Australia has a theory to save the planet from global warming by making the ocean bloom with microscopic plants that can absorb carbon dioxide.

He has set his sights on the UAE as a base for his project.

Phytoplankton, tiny plants that live in the sea for fish to feed on, could be the answer to global warming according to Professor Ian Jones, an ocean engineer from the University of Sydney.

His theory was recently the focus of a television documentary series on the BBC called Five Ways to Save the World.

By adding urea granules, a solid form of nitrogen, to parts of the ocean that have a nutrient deficit, phytoplankton will bloom and act like trees, Jones told Gulf News during a recent visit to the UAE... "We're using the pollution from one problem -fossil fuels and redirecting it to feed phytoplankton and finally trap the CO2," he said. Once phytoplankton captures CO2 and eventually dies it sinks to the bottom of the ocean.

Extra plankton in the ocean would also benefit certain populations by providing a food source to countries heavily dependent on fish for their livelihood and nourishment.

Nutrient helps sea turn green
In 1995 Ocean Nourishment was already being tried and tested by US researchers who poured half a tonne of iron, a vital nutrient for the survival of phytoplankton, in an area 400km south of the Galapagos Islands where there is hardly any plankton.

It worked and the sea turned green. The scientists claim that the newly fertilised phytoplankton had absorbed an additional 7,000 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of 2,000 fully grown trees... http://gulfnews.com/nation/Environment/10109289.html


SOME BIZARRE BUT INTERESTING IDEAS HERE!

[Glorfindel]

1. Alas, these wonderful ideas have a way of backfiring

or at least of producing unforseen consequences. Someone once thought it would be a swell idea to release foxes and rabbits into the wilds of Australia, and a silly Shakespeare lover released starlings in New York's Central Park so the USA could have all the birds mentioned in the Bard's works. Millions of old tires were sunk off southern Florida to produce an artificial reef (didn't work), and kudzu, the Japanese wonder vine, was imported to the American south to help prevent erosion (worked WAY too well). Everything that human beings do, intended or not, seems to have disastrous effects on the planet. One hundred million feral cats in the United States, merrily destroying the wild bird population, is a prime example. I just hope the oceans don't wind up suffocated by too much plant growth, like certain waterways "improved" by the beautiful water hyacinth. I wish the Australian scientist well, and hope for the best, but history is not on his side.

[truthisfreedom]

2. Whatever works, I'm all for it.

Let's get down to the science of saving the planet.

[Lisa]

3. I thought the iron fertilization trials had mixed results?

There were short-term blooms, but at least for the experiments I read about, the long-term sequestration of carbon was much less (instead of ending up as carbonates or other compounds deep in the ocean, the biomass from the blooms was released back into the air relatively quickly, through decomposition?).

[Barrett808]

15. Yes, the hope was that dead phytoplankton would sink...

...but they rose to the surface and released most of the CO2 back into the air.

[truthisfreedom]

24. Perhaps if they add some lead to the iron they'll sink.

Just a little suggestion.

[OKthatsIT]

25. lol...too funny

[kestrel91316]

4. Question #1: How do these miraculous little beasties do in

highly acidic seawater?

Question #2: What assurances do we have that only the desired organisms will grow? Ever hear of Red Tide, or Pfiesteria, or Dead Zones?

Thanks. That will be all.

[Steak1]

5. Ridiculous idea!

As you said, Red-tides, Dead zones. Not a good thing. So, we create more clean air, but kill all the little fishies.

[Delphinus]

8. Welcome to DU, Steak1!

:hi:

[JCMach1]

7. Exactly some of my reservations...

[w4rma]

6. I think that it's going to take a combination of different ideas like this one to get anywhere close

back to where we were.

[carla]

9. We have to start

somewhere. There are no perfect solutions in open systems, only dynamic solutions. Welcome to the real world, and thank you professor for your contribution. Go phyto, get 'em!!!

[The2ndWheel]

10. Attempting to control and manipulate

on an ever increasing scale got us into this mess. So obviously attempting to control and manipulate on an ever increasing scale will get us out of this mess.

There is nothing we won't do in our relentless quest for perfection.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

11. You'd prefer we do nothing about the problem then?

Just sit here and wait for death?

[The2ndWheel]

14. I'd prefer we not add to the problem and make it worse

when we can no longer push the problem further into the future. I'd prefer we slow down, scale down, and earn some sanity back.

The problem with that being that as a civilization/culture/society we can't slow down. Everything has to be bigger and faster. We have to get there as quickly as we can. The obvious thing to do would be to try and manipulate the ocean to fit our demands and desires. True, we don't live in the ocean, but Europeans didn't live on this land mass, and that didn't stop them.

And until we cure death(which I think is the goal), whether we sit here or run around trying to get there, we're still going to die. Which is why our species hates nature and evolution, and seeks to control and manipulate both to our wants.

[Porcupine]

12. Why not just use sewage sludge?

We could fill supertankers with sewage sludge and ship them to the mid-Pacific. Once there we dilute the sludge and spray the dilute nutrients over the side. That would get phytoplankton blooming.

The problem with the dead zones is that excess nutrients are overconcentrated at the mouths of rivers due to agricultural pollution. The dead zone areas are relatively small compared to the massive area of the oceans. We notice them because they are in the formerly productive continental shelf areas.

The mid-Pacific is a desert largely due to lack of nutrients in the water. Any increase in nutrients produces a phytoplankton bloom that quickly attracts fish. The Pacific ocean is almost 1/2 the planet. If carbon sequestration is going to happen it's going to happen there.

[Barrett808]

16. An interesting idea for disposal, but probably woudn't work for carbon sequestration

See my post #15 above.

[donco]

13. Sounds like a good idea

Sounds like a good idea, sure hope they do a little more research before they start it .Here is an example of a mistake check it out.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m30U8TQXriQ

[Barrett808]

17. My solution: GMO coral

Genetically modify a coral which doesn't expel its algal symbiont in high-temperature water. This solution would simultaneously provide habitat for ocean wildlife and fix atmospheric carbon into calcium carbonate.

Any ideas on how to proceed?

[daleo]

18. People should just use less fossil fuels

More conservation, more wind power, more solar, less suburbanization, smaller cars, more urban transit, etc.

Excessive screwing around with the biosphere is what got us into the predicament in the first place. Forget the magic solutions (mirrors in space, seeding the oceans, etc).

On edit - It's funny how people think they can't change society's behavior, but they can change the oceans.

[Frank Cannon]

19. No possible way that they could screw that up

:sarcasm:

It was our masterful command of the environment that got us into this mess. I don't want to sound defeatist, but I seriously doubt that same masterful command of the environment will get us out.

[JCMach1]

23. I think an experiment is certainly worth it on a small scale

Large scale would have to come later... Some of the reefs on the Indian ocean side of the UAE are some of the most beautiful in the world!

[bananas]

20. urea granules? Isn't that like pissing in the ocean?

[Nihil]

22. Sounds like you've got problems if it comes out in granules!

:wow:

[dave29]

21. everyone just hold their breath for as long as they can

Solves overpopulation, and global warming at the same time.