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From the deck of the research ship Weatherbird II, a California company hopes to prove a controversial theory that putting iron dust in the ocean can produce enough (1) plankton to help save the Earth.
If the research goes well, Planktos aims to make money by fertilizing the ocean, measuring the carbon its plankton forests sequester and selling (2) carbon credits for cash on emerging world carbon markets.
Planktos' plans to seed a patch of ocean 50 to 100 km in diameter, with 50 to 100 metric tonnes of raw iron ore in an area 320 km west of the Galapagos Islands, one of the world's most unique ecosystems.
Weatherbird's mission, delayed for months by the late arrival of high-tech equipment, is steeped in secrecy. In a recent phone interview, Planktos chief executive Russ George said he could not reveal details because of what he said were threats from "radical environmental groups" to halt the mission.
Weatherbird left Florida this month on a mission that has caused consternation among scientists and environmentalists, many of whom do not think the theory has been sufficiently tested to try out on such a large scale.
Oceanographers say that while surface water moves westward near the Galapagos, deeper currents go east, toward rich fishing grounds off South America. There are also questions about whether decaying blooms might produce other, more powerful greenhouse gases.
"The iron ore to be used in the test is the same as dust blown naturally by the wind into the ocean. Hundreds of millions of tons of dust are landing in the ocean every year. How can anyone suggest that our 50 tonnes of rock dust will provoke some cataclysmic result?" George said. ■Reuters
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