From a University of Leeds Press Release
Acidic clouds nourish world’s oceans
Published Friday 2nd October 09
Acidic clouds are feeding bioavailable iron to the oceans – a discovery which sheds light on the natural processes that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Scientists at the University of Leeds have proved that acid in the atmosphere breaks down large particles of iron found in dust into small and extremely soluble iron nanoparticles, which are more readily used by plankton.
This is an important finding because lack of iron can be a limiting factor for plankton growth in the ocean – especially in the southern oceans and parts of the eastern Pacific. Addition of such iron nanoparticles would trigger increased absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
“This could be a very important discovery because there’s only a very small amount of soluble iron in the ocean and if plankton use the iron nanoparticles formed in clouds then the whole flux of bioavailable iron to the oceans needs to be revised,” says Dr Zongbo Shi, lead author of the research from the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds.
Water droplets in clouds generally form around dust and other particles. When clouds evaporate, as they often do naturally, the surface of the particle can become very acidic. This is especially true where the air is polluted.
Paradoxically, scientists suggest that large scale industry in countries like China could be combating global warming to some extent by creating more bioavailable iron in the oceans, and therefore increasing carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere.
“Man made pollution adds more acid to the atmosphere and therefore may encourage the formation of more iron nanoparticles,” says Dr Shi.
Scientists carried out the research by simulating clouds in the laboratory to which they added Saharan dust samples. They were then able to mimic natural conditions in order to monitor the chemical processes happening in the system. The laboratory experiments have been confirmed in natural samples where such cloud processing is known to have occurred.
The findings highlight the complexity of the pattern of natural iron delivery to the oceans, throwing new light on recent high profile plans to add iron to the southern oceans artificially to stimulate plankton growth.
“This process is happening in clouds all over the world, but there are particularly interesting consequences for the oceans. What we have uncovered is a previously unknown source of bioavailable iron that is being delivered to the Earth’s surface in precipitation,” says Professor Michael Krom, the principal investigator of the research, also at the University of Leeds.
The research was published in the September issue of Environmental Science and Technology and funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.
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The production of dimethylsulfide in the ocean is said to produce a strong negative feedback for global temperatures.
http://www.co2science.org/articles/V4/N12/B2.php
Logan, thanks for that link. I speculated in the Dr Spencer thread about such a biological mechanism affecting SSTs and El Ninos. I didn’t know one had been found.
Michael J. Bentley (16:57:08) :
You guys are sooooo bad!!!!
Of the responders here – no one has ever indicated a wish for man to “dirty its nest”. You all, in other threads indicate a sensivity to the enviornment. Use it, yes, but don’t abuse it. Where you part company with many is that you wish to use what we have in efficient ways, not as some demented worship of dirt.
Yeah, you don’t fool me, you are closet environmentalists – (THE BEST KIND!)
enjoy all your comments, and thanks Anthony for providing the platform to say them.
Mike Bentley
Are you suggesting we should be water closet environmentalists?
“The proof is in the pudding.”
Actually Jim Cross, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I agree that it would be useful to know what level of pollution would be optimal. Of course, that would hinge on how often and under what conditions clouds evaporate.
John M Reynolds
The White Cliffs of Dover (and elsewhere) are made from the dead bodies of plankton!
wayne findley (17:35:41) :
It’s also apropos to dredge up this little gem, which casts, shall we say, some doubt on just how much carbon dioxide absorption those ocean critters and critterettes actually do…..
The money quote:
‘If we thought we have understood photosynthesis, this study proves that there is much to be learned about these basic physiological processes.’
Wayne, you know better. Press releases are often prejudiced toward AGW. What the paper actually says:
A photosynthetic strategy for coping in a high-light, low-nutrient environment
Mackey, Katherine R. M., Adina Paytan, Arthur R. Grossman, and Shaun Bailey
Limnol. Oceanogr., 53(3), 2008, 900–913
Phytoplankton in high-light, low-nutrient ocean environments are challenged with maintaining high photosynthetic efficiency and simultaneously preventing photodamage that results from low levels of electron acceptors downstream of photosystem II (PSII). Here, we identify a process in open ocean picophytoplankton that preserves PSII activity by diverting electrons from the photosystem I (PSI) complex–mediated carbon assimilation to oxygen via a propyl gallate–sensitive oxidase associated with the photosynthetic electron transport chain. This process stabilizes diel photochemical efficiency of PSII, despite midday photoinhibition, by maintaining oxidized PSII reaction centers. Although measurements of the maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII, Fv : Fm show midday photoinhibition, midday CO2 fixation is not depressed. Moreover, CO2 fixation saturates at low irradiances even though PSII electron flow is not saturated at irradiances of 1,985 mmol photons m-2 s-1. This disparity between PSII fluorescence and CO2 fixation is consistent with the activity of an oxidase that serves as a terminal electron acceptor, maintaining oxidized PSII reaction centers even when CO2 fixation has saturated and the total number of functional reaction centers decreases because of photoinhibition (reflected in lower midday Fv : Fm values). This phenomenon is less apparent in coastal phytoplankton populations, suggesting that it is a strategy particularly distinctive of phytoplankton in the oligotrophic ocean. Spatial variability in features of photosynthetic electron flow could explain biogeographical differences in productivity throughout the ocean and should be represented in models that use empirical photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence measurements from a limited number of ocean sites to estimate the productivity of the entire ocean.
It’s basically an “idle” mechanism to protect the normal photosynthetic apparatus (enzymes) when saturated. Wait until we see some efficiency numbers before ascribing too much to this (article behind a paywall). In other species (most are capable in one form or another) that “idle” similar to this, the net fixation is less than 10% of the normal CO2 pathway. Often, it results in negative net energy fixation.
“Michael J. Bentley (16:57:08) :
……
Yeah, you don’t fool me, you are closet environmentalists – …..”
We are so far back in the closet we’re in Narnia!
cheers David
Water droplets in clouds generally form around dust and other particles. When clouds evaporate, as they often do naturally, the surface of the particle can become very acidic. This is especially true where the air is polluted.
To someone who might know more, does one of these “other particles” include cosmic ray nucleation?
What is the chemistry of these iron-nanoparticles? I did not see that anywhere. Anyone know?
Ben
Here’s an interesting post regarding a link between Cyanobacteria, CO2 and SSTs:
http://landshape.org/enm/oceanic-cayanobacteria-in-the-modern-global-cycle/
Also, for those who would like a primer on the ocean carbon cycle, I think this is a fairly clear representation.
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/science/chemistry/mc/pow/chapter18.shtml
re: Histograd (15:52:14) :
The one key fact that these press releases seem to neglect is that the ocean is still BASIC! Under basic conditions, the equilibrium of dissolved CO2/carbonic acid/carbonate shifts toward the carbonate side of the equation. In other words, the carbonic acid doesn’t remain as carbonic acid for very long, but changes to carbonate when its protons are lured away by free hydroxy ions. Therefore, as long as the ocean remains basic, carbonate will be available for carbonate fixers such as corals and molluscs. Their shells will not be dissolved unless one of two things occur: 1) all CO2 input stops, or 2) the pH of the ocean drops below 7.0. The worst prediction I have seen for ocean pH is a drop to 7.8 (see http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/un_3_sept_09_ocean_acidification_4.doc)
The fear arises from the belief that the anthropogenic induced rise in CO2 has occurred too rapidly for the natural equilibrium to compensate, despite the fact that ocean pH was probably about the same as it is now millions of years ago when CO2 was 10 times more concentrated.
Michael J. Bentley (16:57:08) :
Of the responders here – no one has ever indicated a wish for man to “dirty its nest”.
You got me thinking there (eventually). I wonder how many socialists formed their immutable ideas at an age before they started nesting?
I’ve also heard it said that one of the reasons for the high divorce rate nowadays is the obsession with cleanliness and artificial odours – it confuses our normal methods of choosing a mate. Probably speculation though, the whole thing being, like climate, an example of P2C2E.
Algal blooms aren’t necessarily good for ocean life:
“Algal bloom is the common name of a large and sudden increase in the concentration of algae. Algal blooms are closely related to eutrophication and emissions of nutrients. Some algal blooms can produce algae that are toxic.
When the algae die, they sink to the bottom where they are decomposed by bacteria. In this process oxygen from the bottom water is consumed. If the oxygen content in the bottom water decreases to less than 2 mg/l, many benthic animals will die. This is usually referred to as anoxic sediments.
Lack of oxygen in the bottom water also causes nutrients to leak from the bottom sediments more than in oxic conditions. In this way anoxic sediments cause a negative feed-back that will further increase the eutrophication.”
http://www.geo.uu.se/miljoanalys/eng/algbot.asp
Can you say me what is mean by sea age.Thanks for sharing this information. I am very glad to see such information which I was searching for a long time.Its really an informative stuff.