Ocean urea fertilization for carbon credits poses high ecological risks

Autor: Michele A. Burford, Hak-Gyoon Kim, Judith M. O’Neil, John Beardall, Yuzao Qi, Michael A. Mallin, Deborah A. Bronk, John A. Harrison, Yasuwo Fukuyo, G. Mine Berg, Patricia M. Glibert, A.A. Kana, Adnan Al-Azri, Robin Raine, James N. Galloway, Robert W. Howarth, Raphael M. Kudela, Allan Cembella, Donald M. Anderson, Paulo S. Salomon, Robert J. Diaz, Cynthia A. Heil, Mingyuan Zhu, P. Andersen, Shauna A. Murray, Grant C. Pitcher, Dao Viet Ha, Sybil P. Seitzinger, Sonya T. Dyhrman, Rhodora V. Azanza, Catherine Legrand, JoAnn M. Burkholder, Margaret R. Mulholland, Paul Harrison, William P. Cochlan, Jackie L. Collier, Yves Collos, Eva Abal, Cécile Jauzein, Edna Granéli, Thomas E. Drennen, Caroline Solomon, Miles Furnas, Ken Furuya, Diane K. Stoecker, Justin D. Brookes, Larry E. Brand, Nancy N. Rabalais, Martina A. Doblin, Joanne Wilson, Gustaaf M. Hallegraeff, Gires Usup, Faiza Al-Yamani, Mingjiang Zhou, Kedong Yin, Todd M. Kana, Kirsten Heimann
Rok vydání: 2008
Předmět:
0106 biological sciences
Greenhouse Effect
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Oceans and Seas
Iron fertilization
dinoflagellate alexandrium
thalassiosira-weissflogii
algal bloom
Aquatic Science
Carbon sequestration
Biology
Oceanography
01 natural sciences
Algal bloom
cyanobacteria
dissolved organic nitrogen
Article
Phytoplankton
harmful algae
Urea
14. Life underwater
coastal eutrophication
Fertilizers
Ecosystem
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
urea dumping
Ecology
hypoxia
aureococcus-anophagefferens
010604 marine biology & hydrobiology
marine cyanobacterium
toxic dinoflagellates
fungi
Hypoxia (environmental)
carbon credits
15. Life on land
Plankton
iron fertilization
Pollution
carbon sequestration
Carbon
ocean fertilization
Marine Biology & Hydrobiology
coral-reefs
13. Climate action
Ocean fertilization
8. Economic growth
Eutrophication
sulu sea
Popis: The proposed plan for enrichment of the Sulu Sea, Philippines, a region of rich marine biodiversity, with thousands of tonnes of urea in order to stimulate algal blooms and sequester carbon is flawed for multiple reasons. Urea is preferentially used as a nitrogen source by some cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates, many of which are neutrally or positively buoyant. Biological pumps to the deep sea are classically leaky, and the inefficient burial of new biomass makes the estimation of a net loss of carbon from the atmosphere questionable at best. The potential for growth of toxic dinoflagellates is also high, as many grow well on urea and some even increase their toxicity when grown on urea. Many toxic dinoflagellates form cysts which can settle to the sediment and germinate in subsequent years, forming new blooms even without further fertilization. If large-scale blooms do occur, it is likely that they will contribute to hypoxia in the bottom waters upon decomposition. Lastly, urea production requires fossil fuel usage, further limiting the potential for net carbon sequestration. The environmental and economic impacts are potentially great and need to be rigorously assessed. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Databáze: OpenAIRE