Ocean Nourishment - Nitrogen Fertilization

Nitrogen Fertilization

This technique (proposed by Ian Jones) suggests fertilizing the ocean with urea, a nitrogen rich substance, to encourage phytoplankton growth. and has also been considered by Karl.

An Australian company, Ocean Nourishment Corporation (ONC), plans to sink hundreds of tonnes of urea into the ocean, in order to boost the growth of CO₂-absorbing phytoplankton, as a way to combat climate change. In 2007, Sydney-based ONC completed an experiment involving one tonne of nitrogen in the Sulu Sea off the Philippines.

This technique can give 0.38W/m2 of globally averaged negative forcing, which is sufficient to reverse the warming effect of current levels of around a quarter of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. It is notable, however, that CO₂ levels will have risen by the time this could be achieved.