The other major approach to sequestration is to "prime the biological pump" by fertilizing the ocean. Near the surface, carbon is fixed by plant-like
One such approach involves the addition of otherwise scarce (limiting) nutrients to surface ocean waters to manipulate marine biological production, thus
Artificial ocean fertilization (AOF) aims to safely stimulate phytoplankton growth in the ocean and enhance carbon sequestration.
Ocean fertilization uses nutrients to enhance photosynthesis by marine phytoplankton, which remove CO₂ and convert it into biomass that can
# Ocean Iron Fertilization: A Promising Path for Carbon Removal? As a marine radiochemist and the director of the non-profit Exploring Ocean Iron Solutions (ExOIS), Dr. Buesseler shared insights on how adding small amounts of iron to the ocean could amplify its natural ability to store carbon, the potential impacts on marine ecosystems, and the path toward responsible research. When scientists compared different climate models' predictions of natural carbon flux in the ocean, the estimates ranged from 5 to 12 billion tons per year. Every marine carbon dioxide removal approach, whether it involves adding minerals, growing seaweed, or fertilizing with iron, will change ocean conditions. We need roughly 5 to 10 billion tons per year of carbon dioxide removal alongside dramatic emissions reductions to address climate change. Ocean iron fertilization might contribute 1 to 2 billion tons annually if deployed widely, though much more research is needed to confirm these estimates and assess full-scale impacts.
Iron fertilization is a Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technique that would artificially add iron to the ocean’s surface to stimulate growth of phytoplankton. When the plume of dust or ash settles over the ocean’s surface, it triggers massive blooms of phytoplankton that remove substantial amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Iron fertilization is a Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technique that would mimic this natural system, artificially adding iron to the ocean’s surface to stimulate growth of phytoplankton. If relatively small amounts of iron can be added to the ocean’s surface to effectively remove large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, iron fertilization has the potential to play a pivotal role in reducing additional impacts associated with climate change. Until experiments are done to test these potential outcomes and determine how much carbon can be sequestered in the ocean depths, iron fertilization should not be put to use as a method of slowing climate change. ### Fertilizing the Ocean with Iron.
Ocean carbon removal approaches aim to enhance or accelerate natural biological or chemical processes that sequester carbon in the ocean.
This paper presents a basic cost model for undertaking ocean iron fertilization (OIF) as a means of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.