Planting of phytoplankton wants to prevent warming of the earth

2001/03/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Ingurumena

To combat Earth warming, a curious experiment was conducted in the 1990s. In fact, oceanographers in an American laboratory poured a small amount of iron sulfate into the sea. On the fourth or fifth day they realized that the sea became green. What happened in the meantime? For in the sea came phytoplankton. Microscopic plants suspended in water absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, gas which, as is known, is the main responsible for global warming.

The laboratory director noted that plant biomass increased almost 40 times and that plant production increased between 5 and 6 times. In nine days thousands of tons of phytoplankton were generated and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere decreased considerably. Now, a group of scientists from the Department of Energy is studying the development of this experiment. What about absorbed carbon? It can happen that carbon is deposited on the seabed, but also that carbon returns to the atmosphere. However, experts say that phytoplankton can be dangerous until nothing is clear. For his part, the director of the laboratory has announced that a deeper investigation will take place within a year

... In your opinion, it is important to know if nature in the past used this pathway to regulate earth warming.