The latest figures from the World Meteorological Organization have found that close to half the pollution from human resources has been absorbed by the oceans. With greenhouse gas emissions closing at levels that could guarantee warming to be the highest it has ever been, now more than ever there needs to be action in trying to fix what has already been done to the planet that gives us life.
Recently, scientists have been studying the effects of oceanic geo engineering, or more specifically known as Ocean Fertilization. Ocean Fertilization is climate engineering based on the purposeful introduction of nutrients to the upper ocean to increase marine food production and remove CO2 from the atmosphere. It works quite simple. Iron nutrients are introduced into the ocean and act as a fertilizer for oceanic plants which then stimulate phytoplankton growth. Phytoplankton growth will create almost a shield that prevents CO2 from entering the oceans, and blocks CO2 from entering the atmosphere as well. Additionally, It will also help increase the population of Salmon by created more food for salmon to eat, the food being the phytoplankton. But that is a bit more complicated. It makes sense that this would be good to stop the warming of the planet, but It seems strange to do something so experimental to increase the salmon population. Nevertheless, Salmon is a huge Keystone Species to many parts of the world and without them we could see a dangerous collapse of our ecosystem.
In the state of California, Washington, Oregon and Idaho, Salmon are extinct in nearly 40% of the rivers they were known to once inhabit and at least 106 stocks are gone forever. Worldwide, Salmon catches have fallen 70% since 1970 and are expected to be extinct by 2048. If we don't try to promote the growth of the Salmon population, we are looking at the collapse of a keystone species that not only helps support the human race, but wildlife anywhere from birds to bears. Over 137 different species depend on salmon as their main source of sustenance. When Salmon stay protected, so do forests, food, water, communities, and even economics. According to The Wild Salmon Center, “Salmon are the biological foundation of river ecosystems.” An example of this is the sockeye salmon which run in southwest Alaska. This salmon species introduces key nutrients to over 50 species of mammals, birds, and fish. Predators such as brown bears, disperse those nutrients into surrounding forests, enhancing the growth of stream side trees that shade and protect stream banks from excessive erosion. As you can see, Salmon helps protect many different animal and plant species all throughout the world. We must do whatever we can to protect this keystone species from extinction.
In 2012, the Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation traveled to international waters near the islands of Haida Gwaii where they dumped iron sulphate into the water in an effort to restore the salmon population. Not only has there been an increase of salmon throughout these regions from the rise in phytoplankton, but scientists are claiming that these studies are helping lower the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
But is it just that simple? Or are there more complicated effects that could arise? Many scientists argue that there is not enough evidence to mess with chemically enhancing our oceans. Maite Maldonado of the University of British Columbia argues that the timing is too delicate when dumping iron into our oceans. Maldonado claims that the studies that have taken place to show positive results for phytoplankton blooms are only due to special circumstance and timing. Just as birds migrate for the winter, so do phytoplankton. The iron that was dumped into the ocean of the shores of Haida Gwaii may have only worked due to the higher population of phytoplankton in the area for that specific time. However, where phytoplankton doesn't have a high population or doesn't exist, we may see harmful effects to the chemical composition of the ocean due to the fact that we would be dumping Iron into the ocean for no reason. This project is ringing alarms in the scientific community. Right now, The bloom found in Haida Gwaii is over 10,000 square kilometres and is currently visible from space. Its 100 times larger than any other ocean fertilization project, and many worry that the process could have additional effects that are unknown to us right now. Some of the potential harmful effects speculated include; a reverse effect with a decreases in oxygen as well as creating potentially toxic, lifeless waters.
Right now, there are no discussions from the US Federal Government that tell us this will be studied further. While it may seem like these experimentations will be beneficial to our oceans, there is no concrete evidence that says so. But one thing that is for sure, there are problems within our world today, and something must be done to attempt to fix it.
