Don Libby wrote:
> From: "FlyBird" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> Now Livescience.com mentions 2 studies that say typhooons /
>> hurricanes / cyclones may be burying CO2 in the oceans. Hmmm maybe
>> those mounds underneath the ocean has the same effect as hurricanes,
>> as in stirring up the oceans and mixing around the fish food! ? Nature
>> trying to heel itself?
>>
>> http://www.livescience.com/environment/081019-cyclones-carbon.html
>>
>
> I think there are two different things going on here - one is taking CO2 out
> of the air and putting it in the ocean, the other is taking it out of ocean
> water and sequestering it as a solid on the sea floor. The oceans will soak
> up some CO2 from the atmosphere, to a point, but that raises a new
> environmental issue since the water becomes more acidic as a result. Once
> it's in the water, zooplankton take carbon and fix it in their skeletons, a
> process that eventually leads to the formation of limestone deposits. That
> takes some carbon out of the carbon cycle, unless the limestone is
> excavated, crushed, and heated to make cement :-(
Um...no, as I read this it is basically talking about soil erosion
carrying down the soil carbon content to the ocean where a lot of it may
be expected to sink. But even with my relatively sanguine attitude (at
least compared to some) I find it hard to see increased soil erosion
from storms as a good thing. This seems a very weak silver lining to
that particular cloud!
I've already suggested burial of biomass at sea (via floating rafts of
genetically-engineered coconut trees, if you must know) but apparently
there is a worrying issue of interference in the natural biochemistry of
the ocean as at least some of the organic matter will decay leading to
an oxygen debt and other nasty consequences.
James
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