The Oceans and Carbon Capture

Where would you say are the largest concentrations of carbon? You'd probably reply, "In the atmosphere, of course."

Well, you're wrong. The correct answer is the seas. Did you know the oceans contain 42 times more carbon than the atmosphere? I think I hear you gasping and choking on that one.

With nature already doing so much to clean up our atmosphere, scientists are looking to help it do even more. Fish farms? Yes, The Cool Down explains how that could work, saying it, "involves adding iron to fish farm waters, where it reacts with hydrogen sulfide to form iron sulfide. This reaction increases alkalinity and raises the water's carbonate saturation levels, which allows more CO2 to be captured from the environment."

Then, there are those who propose utilizing seaweed. Seaweed already sequesters a good amount of CO2. Some scientists suggest implanting a lot more seaweed into our oceans -- perhaps requiring a land mass twice the size of California.

One looming question is whether ocean-based carbon capture programs will imbalance aquatic life. So, ocean-based carbon capture might not be the answer. But it would be wise of us to continue to study. The guess is that the oceans could prove to be very beneficial.