Will putting iron dust in the ocean stop global warming?

Question

Here is a article that explains what im talking about. http://health.theledger.com/article/20070821/TOPSTORY/4942/-1/RSS2&source=RSS

just tell me if its gonna work or not.

wow, thats a lot of great answers, awesome, thank you.

Answer 1

One can think that is a good idea, but the good idea can have collateral effects as this "The most conspicuous effects of red tides are the associated wildlife mortalities among marine and coastal species of fish, birds, marine mammals and other organisms. In the case of Florida red tides, these mortalities are caused by exposure to a potent neurotoxin produced naturally by Karenia brevis, called brevetoxin.

In 1972 a red tide was caused in New England by a toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium (Gonyaulax) tamarense.

It is unclear what causes red tides; their occurrence in some locations appears to be an entirely natural occurrence[1], while in others they appear to be a result of human activities[2] The frequency and severity of algal blooms in some parts of the world have been linked to increased nutrient loading from human activities. In other areas, algal blooms are a seasonal occurrence resulting from coastal upwelling, a natural result of the movement of certain ocean currents[3]. The growth of marine phytoplankton is generally limited by the availability of nitrates and phosphates, which can be abundant in agricultural run-off as well as coastal upwelling zones. Coastal water pollution produced by humans and systematic increase in sea water temperature have also been implicated as contributing factors in red tides. Other factors such as iron-rich dust influx from large desert areas such as the Saharan desert are thought to play a major role in causing red tides"

This idea can works. The Plankton need iron, but need too phophates and nitrates. When nitrates and phosphates go to a lake, the algal bloom can destroy fisheries. In the sea, the collateral effects would be: red tides, coral destruction, bootom algal destruction, food chain damaged, international conflicts, and who knows else?

For this CO2 effect is requiered that the plankton would be removed very fast from the sea, and put safe from any food chain. The bacteria could send again the CO2 to the atmosphere. How and where we freeze the plankton? Antarctica? Underground?

Answer 2

If the iron works as a fertilizer then it could work, but the science doesn't sound too good to me. After all raw iron in contact with salt water would rust and would the plankton want iron oxide?

Plankton blooms are not that great of an idea either they create large fish kills and harms the environment. The Red Tide is one such plankton bloom with algae in the Atlantic

According to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Tide
"The most conspicuous effects of red tides are the associated wildlife mortalities among marine and coastal species of fish, birds, marine mammals and other organisms. In the case of Florida red tides, these mortalities are caused by exposure to a potent neurotoxin produced naturally by Karenia brevis, called brevetoxin."

Doing this near the Galapagos Islands sounds very stupid and foolish to me, but in international water he can do what he wants. Then how does he plan on getting more iron to keep fertilizing the plankton. Does he know what effect that plankton bloom will have on the environment? It doesn’t sound like he thought it all out.

Answer 3

While no one can say for sure if it will work it does sound like a promising step. It will remove a good amount of CO2 from the air if it works. Naturally of course... you will never stop global warming, not because it's impossible but because it would be as big a mistake as runaway global warming. It is a natural process of life on this planet, and since the Earth will never be at a standstill, if we are no longer warming we will start cooling. Then we will have to fight glaciers with salt and flamethrowers and people will trash electric cars instead of SUV's... it'll be a nightmare.