I have been considering how the base technology (the equipment that sprays the salt water to whiten the clouds) that underpins Dr Salter's cloud whitening geo-engineering could be used in different and new ways. I believe that I have hit upon a modification to the base technology that may prove to be quite important and very useful.
Proposed Modification to Cloud Whitening Into the intake line feeding the spray equipment (this is the low pressure side), inject either dissolved solutions / fine suspensions of key marine nutrients such as iron, phosphate and silicate that limit growth in the top few centimetres of the ocean surface away from the continental shelves. The nutrients will be delivered to the clouds and will later fall as rain and deliver the dilute (i.e. the level that micro plants require) nutrients to the ocean surface. The proposed method avoids delivering nutrients in high concentration from a dragged point and then requiring currents and waves to disperse nutrients. The proposed method, because it uses wind, rain and weather, will deliver nutrients across wide areas of ocean surface. In essence I am suggesting converting the equipment for cloud whitening into a very efficient method for delivering marine nutrients across wide areas that will be significantly better than alternative methods. This solution directly address the problem of spreading marine nutrients that if often cited as a drawback in reference to ocean fertilization The modification should be relatively inexpensive and simple to make as it is little more than using a low pressure pump to continuously inject into a flowing line. Potential Advantages Relatively few spray assemblies should be able fertilize very large areas of ocean. Land based installations (which will cost less to build and operate) on remote islands such as Easter Island will be able to deliver nutrients to large areas of ocean. Overall the ability to deliver nutrients across wide areas of the ocean surface for low cost and with reduced logistic problems should improve the opportunities for ocean fertilization. Some Discussion The modification of cloud whitening as I have outlined, blurs the lines between solar radiation management and enhanced direct carbon capture. It is both and should improve the interest in and need to further develop Dr Salter's cloud whitening technology. One further point that seems worth of mention: many of the ocean ecosystems are near collapse due to overfishing driven by the rising world population. This is a large problem that urgently needs a solution. It is likely that increasing the deep ocean surface water productivity by fertilization will lead to greater fish stocks in the areas where fishing tends to be poor at present. Potentially this may give a much needed safety valve to overfished areas and allow these areas to recover. Some I expect will cite increased fish stocks in areas that are nutrient poor as changing ecosystems and hold this as a reason for not considering ocean fertilization. I would point out that we are already very severely modifying coastal ecosystems by overfishing. Reversing this by increasing deep water fish stocks is the better option. Ultimately the world population has to be fed. David Sevier Carbon Cycle Limited 248 Sutton Common Road Sutton, Surrey SM3 9PW England Tel 44 (0)208 288 0128 Fax 44 (0)208-288 0129 www.carbon-cycle.co.uk This email is private and confidential -- 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 https://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
