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Geology Notes On – Ocean Fertilization – For W.B.C.S. Examination.
ভুতত্ব নোট – মহাসাগর নিষেক – WBCS পরীক্ষা।
Geology a branch of Earth Sciences, has risen as one of the most secure and scoring optional subject for the W.B.C.S. Civil Services Mains examination. This subject is easy to understand, hence easy to crack. So, if the aspirants have profound interests in geology, then choose this subject. The syllabus of geology for W.B.C.S. Mains exam is long and aspirants may require over three months covering the syllabus.Ocean fertilization, which some scientists refer to as bio-geoengineering, would involve dissolving iron or nitrates into the surface waters of specific ocean regions to promote the growth of phytoplankton where primary productivity is low. For the scheme to be effective, it is thought that a sustained effort would be required from a fleet of vessels covering most of the ocean. Many authorities maintain that this scheme would take decades to unfold.
Ocean fertilization would increase the uptake of CO2 from the air by phytoplankton, microscopic plants that reside at or near the surface of the ocean. The premise is that the phytoplankton, after blooming, would die and sink to the ocean floor, taking with them the CO2 that they had photosynthesized into new tissues. Although some of the material that sank would be returned to the surface through the process of upwelling, it is thought that a small but significant proportion of the carbon would remain on the ocean floor and become stored as sedimentary rock.
The production of biochar, a type of charcoal made from animal wastes and plant residues (such as wood chips, leaves, and husks), can sequester carbon by circumventing the normal decomposition process or acting as a fertilizer to enhance the sequestration rate of growing biomass. Normally, as organic material decomposes, the microbes breaking it down use oxygen and release CO2. If, however, the material were “cooked” in the absence of oxygen, it would decompose rapidly through pyrolysis. Little or no CO2 would be released, and the bulk of the organic material would harden into a kind of porous charcoal, essentially sequestering the carbon as a solid. Biochar mixed with soils might serve as a fertilizer, thus further increasing the carbon sequestration potential of plants growing in the soil. Some environmentalists see biochar as a breakthrough in carbon-sequestration technology, but its ability to reduce CO2 concentrations at global scales is a matter of some debate. In addition, some scientists see problems in ramping up the biochar production process to global scales, since farmers would have to decide between making charcoal for fertilizer or burning plant residue in cooking fires.Also Read , Seismic Zones Of India – Geology Notes – For W.B.C.S. Examination.
Ocean fertilization (OF) is a proposed Carbon Dioxide Removal technique and refers to dumping iron filings or other “nutrients” (e.g., urea) into seawater to stimulate phytoplankton growth in areas that have low photosynthetic production. The idea is that the new phytoplankton will absorb atmospheric CO2 and, when the phytoplankton die, the carbon will be sequestered as they sink to the ocean floor. Over the last 30 years there have been at least 13 ocean iron fertilization experiments. However, scientific studies have shown that the amount of carbon exported to the deep sea is either very low or undetectable because much of the carbon is released again via the food chain.
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