Ask your own question, for FREE!
Biology 18 Online
OpenStudy (anonymous):

give me half a tanker of iron he joked and I'll give you the next ice age. explain this quote from Martin's original article.. help

OpenStudy (solidicecream):

Well you posted your question in the wrong subject.

OpenStudy (solidicecream):

But anyway It's a quote attributed to John Martin who proposed a means of dumping iron fillings into the oceans to enhance or spur phytoplankton growth which in turn take in CO2 and might lead to global cooling methods if needed. It seemed to work on a small scale but there are doubts about how to use it large scale and control issues....Martin died shortly before the experiment was conducted. "According to Martin's iron hypothesis, seeding the ocean surface with iron should make microscopic marine organisms like diatoms multiply dramatically, which might in turn cool the planet. " .................. "The researchers would attempt to prove that by seeding the ocean surface with iron, they could make tiny marine plants called phytoplankton bloom dramatically. When phytoplankton grow, they absorb carbon dioxide dissolved in the water, which in turn draws the gas out of the air. Done on a very large scale, iron fertilization might cool Earth's climate. The concept was simple, the consequences incalculable. If the scientists succeeded, they might discover away to remedy global warming, the heating of Earth's atmosphere caused by excess carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases."

Can't find your answer? Make a FREE account and ask your own questions, OR help others and earn volunteer hours!

Join our real-time social learning platform and learn together with your friends!
Can't find your answer? Make a FREE account and ask your own questions, OR help others and earn volunteer hours!

Join our real-time social learning platform and learn together with your friends!