cage@fmeed1.UUCP (Russ Cage) (12/04/90)
In article <720@sierra.stanford.edu> rosentha@sierra.Stanford.EDU (Peter A. Rosenthal) writes: > If one could float large substrates out in the open ocean several >meters below the surface, and properly seed them, I would bet that >reefs would grow very well on them provided they were located in a >stable, well lit, clean place. Coral occupies only a small area on >the planet presently; I wonder how many square miles? How difficult >would it be to double the area artificially? This has been done with kelp beds. The problem I can see with trying to create reefs in mid-ocean is floating them; they'd get heavy quickly. I recall seeing something a few years back about a person who grew concrete-like structures on wire mesh by throwing them into the sea and feeding in current. The nature of the material deposited was not given, but I would wager it was calcium and magnesium carbonates. This would have given him, for all practical purposes, designer dolomite. Given that the mesh could be in almost any desired form, it would be possible to electro-deposit floats for an open ocean structure. They could be built up until they became too heavy, and then sunk, removing the carbonate from the ocean. Calcium or magnesium could be used to make new mesh. Power could come from wind or OTEC. If OTEC was used, the nutrient-rich water pumped up from the depths would increase local productivity, and floating structures could help tap it by providing space for plants and fish. If fish and kelp farming could pay for such a scheme, it might work. (Electrochemistry question: Ca(HCO3)2 <-> CaCO3 + H2CO3. Would removing calcium carbonate from the ocean just increase the carbonic acid concentration and cut CO2 trapping ability? If so, removing the CO2 as carbonate would not help; it would have to be removed as molecular CO2 and the calcium and magnesium returned to the water as lime to raise the pH and absorb further CO2.) Followups directed to sci.environment and sci.engr. -- Russ Cage Ford Powertrain Engineering Development Department Work: itivax.iti.org!cfctech!fmeed1!cage (CHATTY MAIL NOT ANSWERED HERE) Home: russ@m-net.ann-arbor.mi.us (All non-business mail) Member: HASA, "S" division.
cmccaff@urbana.mcd.mot.com (Chuck McCaffrey) (12/03/98)
In article <720@sierra.stanford.edu> rosentha@sierra.Stanford.EDU (Peter A. Rosenthal) writes: <<Interesting speculations about coral reefs as a natural sink for over-abundant CO2 deleted.>> If one could float large substrates out in the open ocean several meters below the surface, and properly seed them, I would bet that reefs would grow very well on them provided they were located in a stable, well lit, clean place. Coral occupies only a small area on the planet presently; I wonder how many square miles? How difficult would it be to double the area artificially? Coral reef farms of this sort would also be a great sustainable food source for humanity as well as the rest of the world. ____ Very interesting idea, one that had not occurred to me. My questions are: 1) How large are the "large substrates"? 2) How do we make the "large substrates"? What do we make them of? Will their manufacture cause, in and of itself, a large release of CO2 or pollutants? 3) Will the installation disrupt anything that should not be disrupted? Still, an idea worth considering, along with, naturally, decreasing the amount of CO2 we cavalierly dump into the ecosphere. -- \Chuck McCaffrey cmccaff@urbana.mcd.mot.com 1101 E University Urbana IL 61801 \ Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight, [my words] \ Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight, [my opinions] / \ And for each and every underdog soldier in the night, / \ And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.