Current Events 6: New Way to Store Carbon in Deep Ocean

In a recent field test, 14 metric tons of iron were dumped into the ocean and resulted in an explosion of microorganisms with the ability to pull carbon out of the atmosphere and store it in the the depths of the ocean. This mass deposition of iron stimulated the growth of a certain type of algae called diatoms, creating a large bloom in the patch of ocean exposed to the iron. They removed carbon from the atmosphere to be used for photosynthesis, and after about 24 days, the microscopic organisms began to die off. The majority of their carcasses sank more than 1,000 meters below the ocean's surface, carrying a large amount of carbon they absorbed from the atmosphere and depositing it at the bottom of the ocean. It was measured that one atom of iron removed 13,000 atoms of carbon, which were settled on the seafloor and are unlikely to resurface, at least not for many years if at all. However, the amount of carbon removed was still minuscule compared to the amount released into the atmosphere every year and a few other problems arise with iron fertilization. The extremely high iron levels required for this process could limit the metabolic activity in the ocean, in addition to potentially increasing the amount of toxins in the water which may poison other organisms. Iron fertilization in not yet a viable strategy for combating climate change without more research being conducted to discover the extent of adverse effects that may result from it.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/342377/description/Field_test_stashes_climate-warming_carbon_in_deep_ocean