I was pondering how over millions of years the white cliffs in western Isle of Wight were created by gazillions of tiny calcifying creatures. They use photosynthesis to convert sunlight + calcium ions + carbon dioxide into chalk.
I was also wondering whether Southampton has the skills to look further into harnessing this to combat climate change. After all, if the price of carbon goes up, then it could be a big money spinner.
Some googling inevitably turned up an American patent claiming the idea, but not explaining how to do it.
Better still, I found a local expert in calcification at the National Oceanography Centre. Great article in the Independent Newspaper: Can seashells save the world ?
Time to do some more digging …
A quote from the National Oceanography Centre on the topic of ocean based CCS here :
“This will involve large-scale field experiments tightly coupled to a new generation of sophisticated computer models. Until completed satisfactorily, the authors conclude, “…it is impossible to provide a rational judgement about whether the schemes proposed are (1) likely to be effective and (2) likely to cause unacceptable side effects”. Only then can full cost–benefit–risk analyses be performed in order to inform policy, say the researchers.”