Emissions from China Coal Plants Fertilize North Pacific Ocean
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Emissions from China coal plants fertilize North Pacific Ocean - study:
They state that peak measurements showed that up to nearly 60% of the iron in one vast swath of the northern part of the ocean emanates from smokestacks.
"It has long been understood that burning fossil fuels alters Earth's climate and ocean ecosystems by releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere," Seth John, senior author of the study and professor at the University of Southern California, said in a media statement.
"This work shows fossil fuel burning has a side effect: the release of iron and metals into the atmosphere that carry thousands of miles and deposit in the ocean where they can impact marine ecosystems."
[...] In May 2017, they boarded a research vessel and took water samples along a north-south transect at latitudes between 25 degrees and 42 degrees north. They found peak iron concentrations in about the middle, which corresponded with a big wind event over east Asia one month before. The peak iron concentrations were about three times greater than the background ocean measurements.
[...] Since the North Pacific notably lacks iron, the scientists say that an influx of metals and other substances can help build the foundation for a new ecosystem. However, this situation must be interpreted as a 'good news, bad news' outcome for Earth.
"Microscopic iron-containing particles released during coal burning impacts algae growth in the ocean, and therefore the entire ecosystem for which algae form the base of the food chain," John said.
[...] "In the short term, we might think that iron in pollution is beneficial because it stimulates the growth of phytoplankton, which then take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere as they grow to offset some of the carbon dioxide released during the initial burning process. However, it's totally unsustainable as a long-term geoengineering solution because of the deleterious effects of pollution on human health."
Journal Reference:
Paulina Pinedo-Gonzalez, Nicholas J. Hawco, Randelle M. Bundy, et al. Anthropogenic Asian aerosols provide Fe to the North Pacific Ocean [$], Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2010315117)
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