[Coral-List] Pipes hung in the sea ...

Melissa Keyes mekvinga at yahoo.com
Tue Oct 9 21:41:39 EDT 2007


Hello, Listers,
   
  I have been reading articles about Global Warming for ? thirty years, longer?
   
  Does anyone remember an experiment using elemental Iron?  Seems the Tropical Oceans are clear because the water is devoid of Iron, so algae cannot grow.  A group had to try twice, but when they sifted powdered iron into the South Pacific,(quite offshore near the Equator) using the ship's propellers to mix it well, they created a huge green bloom from what little algae was present.  They followed their creation until the algae couldn't reproduce anymore without more Iron.  It died and sank.
   
  The big surprise was something about how they didn't stay in one place, they drifted more than 800 miles, 19,200 km.  I distinctly remember a comment that a few shiploads of Iron so deployed could sop up huge amounts of Carbon, sending it to the bottom of the ocean when the plants died and sank.  An Ice Age could be precipitated if they used too much Iron, they said.  An ecosystem didn't form to recycle the carbon because,(another remembered quote) "The cows couldn't keep up with the pasture", meaning too few herbivores amongst the blooming algae.
   
  I'm sorry that I cannot provide names and dates, this was quite a while ago.  A possible drop in the ocean of our problem of the Earth's warming?
   
  Cheers,
   
  Melissa E. Keyes
  St. Croix, USVI

       
---------------------------------
Catch up on fall's hot new shows on Yahoo! TV.  Watch previews, get listings, and more!


More information about the Coral-List mailing list