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Some scientists have suggested OIF could draw down excess carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the oceans

Ocean iron fertilization has been proposed as a potential solution to address the problem of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. The premise is that by adding iron, a limiting nutrient, to iron-deficient regions of the ocean, it would stimulate the growth of phytoplankton 1 2. This would potentially in turn lead to increased carbon dioxide uptake by the phytoplankton and subsequent sequestration of the carbon in the deep ocean as the plankton sink 3 4.

Many scientists who initially proposed OIF as a means of sequestering excess carbon dioxide have since expressed concerns about potential unintended consequences that could arise from such an ecological manipulation 1 3 or doubts over its long-term efficacy 4.

Others continue to call for further research and experimentation to better understand the complex biogeochemical processes involved and determine whether OIF could be a viable carbon removal strategy 2 4.

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Footnotes​

  1. Harris, G. P. (1986). Phytoplankton ecology. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4081-9 ↩ ↩2

  2. Preston, J. T., Bushnell, D., & Michaels, A. (2023). Iron Dust Could Reverse the Course of Climate Change. International New York Times, NA-NA. ↩ ↩2

  3. Trick, C. G., Bill, B. D., Cochlan, W. P., Wells, M. L., Trainer, V. L., & Pickell, L. D. (2010). Iron enrichment stimulates toxic diatom production in high-nitrate, low-chlorophyll areas. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(13), 5887-5892. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0910579107 ↩ ↩2

  4. Smetacek, V., & Naqvi, S. W. A. (2008). The next generation of iron fertilization experiments in the Southern Ocean. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 366(1882), 3947-3967. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2008.0144 ↩ ↩2 ↩3