Distributing iron particles produced by bacteria could “fertilize” microscopic ocean plants and ultimately lower atmospheric carbon levels, according to a new paper in Frontiers.
Distributing iron particles produced by bacteria could “fertilize” microscopic ocean plants and ultimately lower atmospheric carbon levels, according to a new paper in Frontiers.
“It is important that we explore ideas for climate change mitigation that can supplement the effects of decreasing carbon emissions,” said David Emerson, a senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and author of the paper. “The more ideas we test, the better decisions we can make for our planet’s future.”
Emerson’s paper proposes a novel way to provide iron to large areas of the ocean, 30 percent of which is poor in the essential element. This method takes advantage of minerals synthesized by iron-oxidizing bacteria, which feed on the tiny spark of energy they generate by transferring electrons between iron and oxygen. This process produces rust minerals as byproducts, which are of the right chemical composition to be used by the tiny ocean plants called phytoplankton that help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Read more at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Image: Iron-oxidizing bacteria live in environments as extreme as the deep ocean and as common as roadside ditches. A recent paper in Frontiers proposes distributing the iron that these bacteria naturally produce to 'fertilize' phytoplankton and help remove excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. (Credit: Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences)
