{"217311":{"#nid":"217311","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Moving Iron in Antarctica","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe seas around Antarctica can, at times, resemble a garden. Large-scale experiments where scientists spray iron into the waters, literally fertilizing phytoplankton, have created huge man-made algal blooms. Such geoengineering experiments produce diatoms, which pull carbon dioxide out of the air. Experts argue that this practice can help offset Earth\u2019s rising carbon dioxide levels. However, the experiments are controversial and, according to a new study at the Georgia Institute of Technology, perhaps not as effective as expected.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech research \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nature.com\/ncomms\/2013\/130610\/ncomms2981\/full\/ncomms2981.html\u0022\u003Epublished online\u003C\/a\u003E Monday in Nature Communications indicates that diatoms stuff more iron into their silica shells than they actually need. As a result, there\u2019s not enough iron to go around, and the added iron may stimulate less productivity than expected. The study also says that the removal of iron through incorporation into diatom silica may be a profound factor controlling the Southern Ocean\u2019s bioavailable pool of iron, adversely affecting the ecosystem.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cJust like someone walking through a buffet line who takes the last two pieces of cake, even though they know they\u2019ll only eat one, they\u2019re hogging the food,\u201d said Ellery Ingall, a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s College of Sciences. \u201cEveryone else in line gets nothing; the person\u2019s decision affects these other people.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIngall says, similarly, these \u201chogging\u201d diatoms negatively affect the number of carbon-trapping plankton produced. They also outcompete other organisms for the iron.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt appears the diatoms aren\u2019t using all of the iron for photosynthesis,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re incorporating iron in their shells for another purpose, keeping it from others and affecting the plankton ecosystem.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have known for years that diatoms can remove iron from oceans and carbon from the atmosphere, but little is known about how iron is cycled and removed from the Antarctic region.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIngall and a former Georgia Tech graduate student, Julia Diaz, spent nearly six weeks in Antarctica\u2019s Ross Sea from 2008 to 2009, trying to learn more. They collected samples in the frigid waters and used them to create what is believed to be the first spectroscopic, compositional characterization of iron in marine biogenic silica. Ingall conducted an X-ray analysis of the phytoplankton at the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.anl.gov\/articles\/questions-rise-about-seeding-ocean-c02-sequestr%20ation\u0022\u003EArgonne National Laboratory\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA major source of bioavailable iron in Antarctica is from melting snow and dust deposition. Ingall found that iron addition via these sources barely keeps pace with subtraction by diatoms.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cUptake of iron by diatoms is significant compared to what Mother Nature is able to naturally add to the ocean,\u201d he said. \u201cThis uptake could shift microbial communities toward organisms with relatively lower iron requirements.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Ingall, removal of iron by diatom-dominated phytoplankton communities may dampen the intended outcome of enhanced carbon uptake through iron fertilization by reducing the productivity of other phytoplankton, which take up carbon dioxide more efficiently.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research was funded by the National Science Foundation (EDI-0849494, PLY-0836144, and EDI-1060884). The findings and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NSF.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"New study on carbon dioxide absorption in Antarctic seas"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech research indicates that diatoms stuff more iron into their silica shells than they actually need. As a result, there\u2019s not enough iron to go around, and the added iron may stimulate less productivity than expected.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"New study on carbon dioxide absorption in Antarctic seas explores how iron is cylced in the region."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2013-06-11 16:16:22","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:14:23","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-06-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-06-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"217351":{"id":"217351","type":"image","title":"Diatoms in Antarctica","body":null,"created":"1449180130","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:02:10","changed":"1475894882","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:02","alt":"Diatoms in Antarctica","file":{"fid":"197159","name":"dsc_0030_copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dsc_0030_copy_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dsc_0030_copy_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":204390,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dsc_0030_copy_0.jpg?itok=EFh1SIih"}},"217331":{"id":"217331","type":"image","title":"Ellery Ingall and Julia Diaz","body":null,"created":"1449180130","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:02:10","changed":"1475894882","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:02","alt":"Ellery Ingall and Julia Diaz","file":{"fid":"197157","name":"ellery.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ellery_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ellery_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":650252,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ellery_0.jpg?itok=10rjGLDi"}},"217321":{"id":"217321","type":"image","title":"Ellery Ingall","body":null,"created":"1449180130","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:02:10","changed":"1475894882","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:02","alt":"Ellery Ingall","file":{"fid":"197156","name":"pc130985.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/pc130985_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/pc130985_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":462736,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/pc130985_0.jpg?itok=46zAPe59"}},"217341":{"id":"217341","type":"image","title":"Diatoms","body":null,"created":"1449180130","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:02:10","changed":"1475894882","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:02","alt":"Diatoms","file":{"fid":"197158","name":"diatom.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/diatom_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/diatom_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":34370,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/diatom_0.jpg?itok=RNKdLSNr"}}},"media_ids":["217351","217331","217321","217341"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.nature.com\/ncomms\/2013\/130610\/ncomms2981\/full\/ncomms2981.html","title":"Published Article"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.cos.gatech.edu\/","title":"College of Sciences"},{"url":"http:\/\/shadow.eas.gatech.edu\/~ingall\/Ellery_Ingalls_Site\/Home.html","title":"Ellery Ingall"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"67931","name":"Ellery Ingall"},{"id":"791","name":"Global Warming"},{"id":"34961","name":"iron"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003EMedia Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-2966\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}