Metal deposits can promote the growth of ocean algae that gobble greenhouse gas

By Roberta Kwok

Web edition: August 9, 2012

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This tiny organism can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and carry its carbon to the bottom of the ocean.

Credit: Marina Montresor, SZN / Alfred Wegener Institute.

In 2004, a team of scientists traveled by ship to an enormous whirlpool in the ocean near Antarctica. Their goal was to find out if a risky strategy for fighting climate change might work. The plan: Dump iron in the water to trigger the growth of organisms called algae. Then let the algae soak up carbon dioxide, a gas that contributes to global warming. Finally, watch to see if the organisms drift to the seafloor.

This iron fertilization of algae appears to have been successful, the researchers now report.