Geoengineering impact of open ocean dissolution of olivine on atmospheric CO2, surface ocean pH and marine biology
Ongoing global warming induced by anthropogenic emissions has opened the debate as to whether geoengineering is a ‘quick fix’ option. Here we analyse the intended and unintended effects of one specific geoengineering approach, which is enhanced weathering via the open ocean dissolution of the silica...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:2fbe50f52cc243368bf32023e278f95c 2023-09-05T13:22:14+02:00 Geoengineering impact of open ocean dissolution of olivine on atmospheric CO2, surface ocean pH and marine biology Peter Köhler Jesse F Abrams Christoph Völker Judith Hauck Dieter A Wolf-Gladrow 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/014009 https://doaj.org/article/2fbe50f52cc243368bf32023e278f95c EN eng IOP Publishing https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/014009 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/014009 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/2fbe50f52cc243368bf32023e278f95c Environmental Research Letters, Vol 8, Iss 1, p 014009 (2013) geoengineering carbon cycle marine biology olivine enhanced weathering ocean alkalinization Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 article 2013 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/014009 2023-08-13T00:37:42Z Ongoing global warming induced by anthropogenic emissions has opened the debate as to whether geoengineering is a ‘quick fix’ option. Here we analyse the intended and unintended effects of one specific geoengineering approach, which is enhanced weathering via the open ocean dissolution of the silicate-containing mineral olivine. This approach would not only reduce atmospheric CO _2 and oppose surface ocean acidification, but would also impact on marine biology. If dissolved in the surface ocean, olivine sequesters 0.28 g carbon per g of olivine dissolved, similar to land-based enhanced weathering. Silicic acid input, a byproduct of the olivine dissolution, alters marine biology because silicate is in certain areas the limiting nutrient for diatoms. As a consequence, our model predicts a shift in phytoplankton species composition towards diatoms, altering the biological carbon pumps. Enhanced olivine dissolution, both on land and in the ocean, therefore needs to be considered as ocean fertilization. From dissolution kinetics we calculate that only olivine particles with a grain size of the order of 1 μm sink slowly enough to enable a nearly complete dissolution. The energy consumption for grinding to this small size might reduce the carbon sequestration efficiency by ∼30%. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Environmental Research Letters 8 1 014009 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
geoengineering carbon cycle marine biology olivine enhanced weathering ocean alkalinization Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
spellingShingle |
geoengineering carbon cycle marine biology olivine enhanced weathering ocean alkalinization Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 Peter Köhler Jesse F Abrams Christoph Völker Judith Hauck Dieter A Wolf-Gladrow Geoengineering impact of open ocean dissolution of olivine on atmospheric CO2, surface ocean pH and marine biology |
topic_facet |
geoengineering carbon cycle marine biology olivine enhanced weathering ocean alkalinization Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
description |
Ongoing global warming induced by anthropogenic emissions has opened the debate as to whether geoengineering is a ‘quick fix’ option. Here we analyse the intended and unintended effects of one specific geoengineering approach, which is enhanced weathering via the open ocean dissolution of the silicate-containing mineral olivine. This approach would not only reduce atmospheric CO _2 and oppose surface ocean acidification, but would also impact on marine biology. If dissolved in the surface ocean, olivine sequesters 0.28 g carbon per g of olivine dissolved, similar to land-based enhanced weathering. Silicic acid input, a byproduct of the olivine dissolution, alters marine biology because silicate is in certain areas the limiting nutrient for diatoms. As a consequence, our model predicts a shift in phytoplankton species composition towards diatoms, altering the biological carbon pumps. Enhanced olivine dissolution, both on land and in the ocean, therefore needs to be considered as ocean fertilization. From dissolution kinetics we calculate that only olivine particles with a grain size of the order of 1 μm sink slowly enough to enable a nearly complete dissolution. The energy consumption for grinding to this small size might reduce the carbon sequestration efficiency by ∼30%. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Peter Köhler Jesse F Abrams Christoph Völker Judith Hauck Dieter A Wolf-Gladrow |
author_facet |
Peter Köhler Jesse F Abrams Christoph Völker Judith Hauck Dieter A Wolf-Gladrow |
author_sort |
Peter Köhler |
title |
Geoengineering impact of open ocean dissolution of olivine on atmospheric CO2, surface ocean pH and marine biology |
title_short |
Geoengineering impact of open ocean dissolution of olivine on atmospheric CO2, surface ocean pH and marine biology |
title_full |
Geoengineering impact of open ocean dissolution of olivine on atmospheric CO2, surface ocean pH and marine biology |
title_fullStr |
Geoengineering impact of open ocean dissolution of olivine on atmospheric CO2, surface ocean pH and marine biology |
title_full_unstemmed |
Geoengineering impact of open ocean dissolution of olivine on atmospheric CO2, surface ocean pH and marine biology |
title_sort |
geoengineering impact of open ocean dissolution of olivine on atmospheric co2, surface ocean ph and marine biology |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/014009 https://doaj.org/article/2fbe50f52cc243368bf32023e278f95c |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
Environmental Research Letters, Vol 8, Iss 1, p 014009 (2013) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/014009 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/014009 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/2fbe50f52cc243368bf32023e278f95c |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/014009 |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
014009 |
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1776202773490040832 |