Iron & Urea Fertilisation

• 𝙄𝙍𝙊𝙉:

  • the artificial addition of small amounts of iron-rich dust to the ocean surface
  • stimulates large phytoplankton blooms which are capable of removing substantial amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere via photosynthesis
• 𝘽𝙀𝙉𝙀𝙁𝙄𝙏𝙎 𝙊𝙁 𝙄𝙍𝙊𝙉:

  • lower costs than other sequestration methods
  • provides more prey for the food chain
  • opportunity to mitigate climate change
• 𝘾𝙊𝙉𝙎 𝙊𝙁 𝙄𝙍𝙊𝙉:

  • inefficient
  • vast amounts of ocean needed to have an impact; impractical
  • can stimulate the growth of toxic algae species, which could devastate fish populations
• 𝙐𝙍𝙀𝘼:

  • the addition of nitrogen-rich urea to oceans to stimulate phytoplankton blooms
  • used in areas where iron is a limiting element and iron fertilisation may be economically unfeasible
• 𝘽𝙀𝙉𝙀𝙁𝙄𝙏𝙎 𝙊𝙁 𝙐𝙍𝙀𝘼:

  • theoretically sufficient to reverse the warming effect of one-quarter of anthropogenic carbon dioxide
• 𝘾𝙊𝙉𝙎 𝙊𝙁 𝙐𝙍𝙀𝘼:

  • higher costs than iron fertilisation
  • vast amounts of ocean area needed to have an impact comparable to iron fertilisation