Newly Published Article Outlines Case for Considering Adding Iron to the Ocean for Carbon Dioxide Removal

Credit: Clodagh Curran, ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Marine chemist Ken Buesseler works on a “clap-trap” mooring during the Vertical Transport In the Global Ocean (VERTIGO) project in 2004. As its name implies, this study looks at how materials– including excess carbon dioxide– get from the surface to the deep ocean.

« Newly Published Article Outlines Case for Considering Adding Iron to the Ocean for Carbon Dioxide Removal

Credit: Graphic by Natalie Renier, ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

In a few key parts of the ocean, biological activity is limited by a lack of iron in seawater. Adding iron could, therefore, help spur the growth of phytoplankton and increase both the uptake of carbon dioxide by the ocean and the amount that gets sequestered at depth.

« Newly Published Article Outlines Case for Considering Adding Iron to the Ocean for Carbon Dioxide Removal

Credit: M. W. Silver

An under-the-microscope view of a diatom, Chaetoceros sp., that commonly responds to iron additions.

« Newly Published Article Outlines Case for Considering Adding Iron to the Ocean for Carbon Dioxide Removal

Scientists aboard the Australian research vessel Aurora Australis studied the natural cycling of iron in the Southern Ocean in 2001. The three-ship operation investigated the results of adding iron to stimulate a phytoplankton bloom in the Southern Ocean.

« Newly Published Article Outlines Case for Considering Adding Iron to the Ocean for Carbon Dioxide Removal

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