How Do We Know The Total CO2 Removal Potential Of OIF?
During the last two years, new computer-based models explicitly simulated the ecological response to the natural iron cycle. When coupled to ocean circulation and biogeochemical models, these simulations provide much more realistic predictions than previously possible. The new models have also shown that a large scale 100-year deployment of OIF could produce enough carbon reductions to be comparable with any other currently envisioned carbon reduction technique [Jin et al., 2008; Aumont and Bopp, 2006]. The results from the Aumont and Bopp [2006] simulations suggest that OIF could remove 33 ppm CO2 from the atmosphere after 100 years of continuous fertilization. This is a not a small number, as it represents 1/3 of the current elevation of atmospheric CO2 levels. Zahariev et al. [2008] using a different set of model assumptions calculated that global OIF would absorb approximately 11% of annual anthropogenic emissions [Zahariev, Christian, and Denman,2008]. Although much smaller, this
