Buesseler et al. (2024): Next steps for assessing ocean iron fertilization for marine carbon dioxide removal
Ken Buesseler, Daniele Bianchi, Fei Chai, Jay T. Cullen, Margaret Estapa, Nicholas Hawco, Seth John, Dennis McGillicuddy, Paul J. Morris, Sara Nawaz, Jun Nishioka, Anh Pham, Kilaparti Ramakrishna, David Siegel, Sarah Smith, Deborah K. Steinberg, Kendra A. Turk-Kubo, Benjamin Twining, Romany Webb, Mark Wells, Angelicque White, Peng Xiu, Joo-Eun Yoon IN: Front. Clim., 6, doi: 10.3389/fclim.2024.1430957
Prior ocean iron fertilization (OIF) studies were not designed to quantify the durability of carbon (C) storage, nor how wise OIF might be as an mCDR approach. To quantify C sequestration, the authors introduce a metric called the “centennial tonne”, defined as 1000 kg of C isolated from atmospheric contact for at least 100 years. They set forth the activities needed to assess OIF from a scientific and technological perspective, and additionally, how it might be responsibly studied and potentially deployed.