Online published on 16 January, 2017.
Ocean fertilisation has been identified as one of the few methods by which catastrophic global warming and ocean acidification may be averted. One proposal involves the novel concept of using buoyant, long-lasting flakes made sustainably and at low cost from natural and waste materials to deliver lacking nutrients to potentially productive surface waters. The concentration of ocean biomass, as measured by chlorophyll concentration, could be increased by as much as 2–25 times through fertilisation. Ocean fertilisation could increase sustainable marine catch by as much as fourfold. A related multifaceted benefit would be a reduction in extreme weather events resulting from the cooling of the ocean surface by albedo increases. The flake fertilisation method has the potential to restore oceanic and atmospheric carbon levels to pre-industrial ones, provide time for a managed transition to a low-carbon economy and stimulate global economic development.
