With perhaps 6000 tonnes of helium per year getting produced, and the moon continually tidal modulating Earth; its hot innards of gasses and solids has to go somewhere.
On Mar 22, 2:42 am, Andrew Lockley <[email protected]> wrote: > http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/news/story.aspx?id=1416&cookieConsent=A > > NEWS > > Icelandic volcano's ash led to more CO2 being absorbed by oceans > > 22 March 2013, by Harriet Jarlett > > The Icelandic volcano's ash plume that caused huge air travel disruption > across Europe in 2010 resulted in the oceans absorbing more carbon dioxide > (CO2) than usual, say scientists. > > They found that particles from the ash cloud that fell into the ocean > provided microscope plants, called phytoplankton, with a nutrient boost in > the form of iron. Phytoplankton are important as they absorb CO2 from the > atmosphere. In fact, while phytoplankton represent just two per cent of all > plant matter on Earth, they account for half of all CO2absorption from the > atmosphere.'This had never been done, no one has ever made any at-sea > in-situ measurements during an eruption,' explains Professor Eric > Achterberg, from the National Oceanography Centre Southampton, lead > researcher on the study.In the oceans south of Iceland there isn't usually > enough iron for phytoplankton to bloom for more than a few weeks before it > runs out. This latest study reveals that the volcanic ash column supplied > enough iron that the phytoplankton were able to bloom for longer, and > absorb more CO2 than they would typically have been able to.'In normal > years the iron levels are very low in the Iceland basin as the system runs > out of this nutrient during the annual spring bloom. But in 2010 the iron > supply was so high that demands were met. But then the phytoplankton > stripped the nitrogen out of the surface waters so they became limited by > that instead,' says Achterberg.The research, published in Geophysical > Research Letters, found even with the added iron from the volcano and the > longer blooming period, the phytoplankton were only able to absorb about > 15-20 per cent more CO2 than in other years before the nitrogen in the > water ran out.Intentionally adding iron to the oceans, called iron > fertilisation, has been suggested as a way of getting phytoplankton to > bloom and absorb more carbon dioxide, to combat rising levels in the > atmosphere.The results in the study were collected on three separate > expeditions on the RRS Discovery. Eyjafjallajökull erupted just as the > first cruise was about to embark and nearly spelled the end of several > long-planned experiments - scientists had originally intended to observe > the normal iron levels in the water and see if phytoplankton struggle to > find enough iron.But then the researchers became the first to measure the > effect of a volcanic eruption on the ocean productivity, whilst the > eruption was happening. 'We managed to get right under the plume. We > sampled there to look at the effects of ash on the water column and see how > it affected dissolved iron and aluminium concentration. It was challenging > - the ship was covered with ash,' concludes Achterberg. > > Achterberg, E. P., C. Mark Moore, S. A. Henson, S. Steigenberger, A. Stohl, > S. Eckhardt, L. C. Avendano, M. Cassidy, D. Hembury, J. K. Klar, M. I. > Lucas, A. I. Macey, C. M. Marsay, and T. J. Ryan-Keogh (2013), Natural iron > fertilization by the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption, Geophys. Res. > Lett., 40, doi:10.1002/grl.50221. > > Keywords: Biology, Climate system, Earth system, Environmental > change,Hazards, Marine life, Plants, Volcanoes, Water, -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
