Will Melting Glaciers Slow Climate Change? A Prevailing Theory Is on Shaky Ground

Scientists Thought Antarctic Ice Melt Helped Fight Climate Change. It Doesn’t

Scientists testing a popular climate theory in Antarctica found that melting glaciers deliver far less iron to the ocean than previously believed. Most of the iron feeding carbon-hungry algae actually comes from deep water and sediments, not from the ice itself. A Climate Hope in the Southern Ocean For years, researchers studying the Southern Ocean [...]

Will melting glaciers slow climate change? A prevailing theory is on shaky ground

For scientists who study the Southern Ocean, a long-standing silver lining in the gloomy forecast of climate change has been the theory of iron fertilization. As temperatures rise and glaciers in Antarctica melt, ice-trapped iron would feed blooms of microscopic algae, pulling heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow. There's just one problem: The theory doesn't hold water.

Do Melting Glaciers Really Slow Climate Change? New Evidence Challenges

Scientists have long theorized that as the Antarctic glaciers melt, they release iron trapped within the ice, thereby fertilizing the Southern Ocean and stimulating phytoplankton blooms. These microscopic algae, thriving on the iron, subsequently sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, offering a natural braking mechanism against climate change. However, groundbreaking new research from Rutgers University-New Brunswick chall…