Dr. Peter Brewer
Senior Scientist, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Contemplating Action: Storing Carbon Dioxide in the Ocean
Concerns about global climate change suggest that we should level off, or even decrease, atmospheric carbon dioxide. Recent advances in ocean science hint at the possibility of taking active steps to achieve this. Experiments have shown that it is possible to inject carbon dioxide directly into the deep ocean, where it forms a solid gas hydrate. Other options have also been explored, such as fertilizing seawater to speed up the growth of microscopic plants that consume carbon dioxide. If we want to hold carbon dioxide levels steady, large interventions will be necessary. Is this even possible? And would there be unforeseen environmental consequences? Forty-two years after Roger Revelle's analysis of the "greenhouse" problem, society may be ready to take action through active use of the enormous buffering capacity of the ocean.
