With a pH of 11.8, I do not see how monoethanolamine would be acceptable for wide area use within the Antarctic. The international treaties protecting that region are clear about 'pollution'. This highly caustic substance is not something you would want your children playing with much less affecting such a critical and highly fragile environmental region. To quote the material safety data sheet <http://www.huntsman.com/performance_products/Media%20Library/a_MC348531CFA3EA9A2E040EBCD2B6B7B06/Products_MC348531D0B9FA9A2E040EBCD2B6B7B06/Amines_MC348531D0BECA9A2E040EBCD2B6B7B06/Ethanolamines_MC348531D0C86A9A2E040EBCD2B6B7B06/files/monoethanolamine.pdf> ;
*"Caution must be exercised, however, to keep the material in the anhydrous state to prevent severe corrosion to the carbon steel or aluminum tank and related equipment." *That doesn't look good for the flora/fauna of the Antarctic. As to the permanently frozen nature of that region, increasing the stratospheric sulfur particulate levels, as proposed by proponents of stratospheric aerosol (sulfur) injection (SAI), will insure ample polar warming and thus surface ice melt due to the increase in polar stratospheric cloud production vis-a-vis SAI (per Robock <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/1998RG000054/abstract;jsessionid=34D33DEC13A61D04768A7B57FFB8EE86.f03t04>). In short, it is probably best we not increase aerosols, of any kind, and focus upon demonstrating the usefulness of CDR, utilization and ending the FF age. Best, Michael On Sunday, October 26, 2014 1:38:47 PM UTC-7, Greg Rau wrote: > > > http://www.adn.com/print/article/20141025/alaska-scientist-suggests-storing-carbon-dioxide-polar-ice-blunt-warming > > ""I'm a little nervous about it, but I want to present it," he said." > > I'd say the nervous part is justified. Anyway, should be a rollicking > good time at AGU, though disappointed that the CDR session was demoted to a > poster session, while SRM gets full exposure. - Greg > > Ned Rozell > October 25, 2014 > > FAIRBANKS -- Jim Beget spends much of his time digging for clues from > long ago, like when a volcanic island might have collapsed into the sea, > sending giant waves to distant shores. He will soon engage in debate on a > contemporary question: Before carbon dioxide makes Earth unlivable, what > can we do about it? > > In December, the University of Alaska Fairbanks geologist-volcanologist > will tack a poster in a San Francisco meeting hall amid the crashing surf > of a thousand conversations. To educated passersby at the fall meeting of > the American Geophysical Union <http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2014/> [1], he > will explain his idea of capturing a greenhouse gas and raining it out over > the coldest place on Earth. > > "I'm a little nervous about it, but I want to present it," he said. > Geoengineering ideas > > Beget's idea is an example of geoengineering -- using manmade solutions to > reduce carbon dioxide levels in the 30-mile shell of gases around Earth. > Accelerating levels of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere is a frequent > topic at the conference. Al Gore and climate scientist James Hansen > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hansen> [2] have spoken with urgency > on the subject in lecture halls packed with more people than live in most > Alaska towns. > > With geoengineering, humans attempt to modify the effects of > planet-warming molecules in the atmosphere. The ideas, most still in the > think-tank stage, range from painting roofs white to reflect sunlight to > seeding the atmosphere with volcanic-emission-like particles known to cause > global cooling. Another way to tackle the problem is to suck carbon dioxide > from the atmosphere. Some have suggested dumping iron filings in the ocean > to stimulate the growth of CO2-consuming plankton. > > As he pondered these notions, Beget's northern bias came through. > > "There really hasn't been any suggestion of using the cryosphere (the > frozen parts of the planet) to store CO2," he said. > Never thawed > > He thought the great plateau of East Antarctica, home of the South Pole. > There sits an ice sheet as large as the Lower 48. At its thickest, the ice > is 15,000 feet (nearly 3 miles) above the ocean. Upon that ice in 1983, > Russians at the Vostok Research Station > <http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/coldest-temperatures-seven-continents-20131211> > [3] recorded a temperature of minus 128.6 Fahrenheit. Ice cores show no > evidence of temperatures close to the thawing mark. > > "There's no melt in the record, which goes back 200,000 years," Beget > said. "It's a natural place for this concept." > > To get the carbon dioxide out of the air and down to the ice sheet, Beget > proposes seeding the air over central Antarctica with monoethanolamine, a > compound industry workers use to capture carbon dioxide before it exits > smokestacks. Snowfalls would bury the crystals infused with carbon dioxide > until the high-altitude parts of the ice sheet touch the sea or otherwise > thaw. That would buy some time, Beget said. > > "According to the physics and ice-flow models, you have a couple hundred > thousand years." > > Beget admits that both the manufacture of monoethanolamine > <http://www.basf.com/group/corporate/us/en/brand/MONOETHANOLAMINE> [4] and > the transport of it to Antarctica are carbon-emitting activities, but he > says other compounds with less of a footprint might be substituted. He > knows that executing a perfect solution to excess carbon dioxide is not > realistic. > 'I'm worried' > > The quiet, thoughtful professor is striding into a contentious arena > because has not before heard anyone suggest Earth's freezer as a place to > store CO2. And because it's time. > > "Frankly, I'm worried about global warming. I'm worried about climate > change. I'd like to suggest something that might help.” > > *Ned Rozell is a science writer with the Geophysical Institute at the > University of Alaska Fairbanks. Used with permission.* > ------------------------------ > *Source URL:* > http://www.adn.com/article/20141025/alaska-scientist-suggests-storing-carbon-dioxide-polar-ice-blunt-warming > > *Links:* > [1] http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2014/ > [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hansen > [3] > http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/coldest-temperatures-seven-continents-20131211 > [4] http://www.basf.com/group/corporate/us/en/brand/MONOETHANOLAMINE > -- 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. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
