Trawler [image credit: BBC]
Any deliberate large-scale interference in natural processes must be fraught with risks and difficulties. Nevertheless some scientists think they should seek to impose their will on nature, invoking climate models and CO2-obsessed theories as the excuse.
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Removal of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, in addition to major reductions in ongoing emissions, is required to stave off the most severe consequences of climate change,
claims EurekAlert [Talkshop comment – without offering any evidence].
Large-scale ocean iron fertilization is one of several strategies that could help remove carbon dioxide, but new research published this week in Global Change Biology by a Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences researcher and colleagues shows that it might also negatively affect marine ecosystems in far corners of the ocean.
Using advanced models of ocean biogeochemistry and ecology, the team showed that iron fertilization in the Southern Ocean could exacerbate climate change-driven nutrient shortages and productivity losses in the tropics, potentially hurting the coastal fisheries on which many people rely.
The findings illustrate both the interconnected nature of the ocean and the need for more objective research on the relative advantages and unintended consequences of marine carbon dioxide removal.
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