Chuck Darwin<p><a href="https://c.im/tags/Richard" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Richard</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Spinrad" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Spinrad</span></a>, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( <a href="https://c.im/tags/NOAA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NOAA</span></a> ), said the government-backed body was estimating the effects of some of the likely techniques for <a href="https://c.im/tags/geoengineering" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>geoengineering</span></a>, including those involving the oceans.<br>“My own belief is that we need to get a better understanding of what the impacts are,” he said. <br>“I suspect some aspects of geoengineering are going to be an important component of the solution to reducing global warming, and all of the impacts of global climate change, like ocean acidification.”</p><p>Potential geoengineering techniques include <a href="https://c.im/tags/seeding" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>seeding</span></a> the oceans with <a href="https://c.im/tags/iron" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>iron</span></a> to absorb more carbon dioxide, <br>or <a href="https://c.im/tags/spraying" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>spraying</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/water" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>water</span></a> from the oceans into low-level clouds to reflect some of the sun’s radiation.<br>Spinrad said understanding the potential impact of geoengineering on the oceans was vital. <br>“If we were to undertake an effort in some things like iron fertilisation [of the oceans], what are the consequence to the ecosystem of doing that? [Also important is] building good predictive models … and supporting decision-makers,” he said.<br>NOAA is focusing on the potential for the oceans to <a href="https://c.im/tags/sequester" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sequester</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/CO2" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CO2</span></a>, a process known as marine carbon dioxide removal.</p><p>The agency’s researchers are also working closely with universities and government scientists in the UK on the potential for the shutdown of the systems driving the Gulf Stream ocean currents. <br>Evidence has recently been presented that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (<a href="https://c.im/tags/Amoc" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Amoc</span></a> ) may be rapidly weakening, over decades rather than centuries, under the impact of heating oceans and melting ice, and its <a href="https://c.im/tags/shutdown" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>shutdown</span></a> could be catastrophic for Europe and other regions.</p><p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/14/geoengineering-must-be-urgently-investigated-experts-say?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theguardian.com/environment/20</span><span class="invisible">24/mar/14/geoengineering-must-be-urgently-investigated-experts-say?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other</span></a></p>