Gizmorama - September 14, 2015

Good Morning,

Here's the question of the day - Can fertilized phytoplankton help cool the planet? MIT's Center for Global Change Science believes it could help with cool down global warming.

Learn about this and more interesting stories from the scientific community in today's issue.

Until Next Time,
Erin

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*--- Can fertilized phytoplankton help cool the planet? ---*
BOSTON - As climate change predictions have become more dire -- with the point of no return drifting closer and closer -- the possibility that global warming could be simply geo- or bioengineered away has grown more appealing.

One relatively popular concept has been the proposed use of fertilizers to boost phytoplankton blooms in the world's oceans. Like plant leaves, phytoplankton photosynthesizes sunlight, turning the solar energy into food and, in the process, converting CO2 into oxygen. Phytoplankton also gives off dimethyl sulfide (DMS), which, when absorbed into the atmosphere, forms sunlight-reflecting sulfate aerosols.

It's been suggested these cooling effects could be bolstered by fertilizing the oceans with iron sulfite and other phytoplankton-friendly nutrients. But as is often the problem with man's manipulation of the natural world, there are side effects and unintended consequences -- sometimes problematic and counteractive ones.

A new study out of MIT's Center for Global Change Science suggests higher DMS emissions could offset greenhouse gas-related warming, but also alter precipitation patterns and negatively affect water resources in vulnerable regions.

"Discussions of geoengineering are gaining ground recently, so it's important to understand any unintended consequences," Chien Wang, a research scientists at the center, said in a press release. "Our work is the first in-depth analysis of ocean fertilization that has highlighted the potential danger of impacting rainfall adversely."

Wang is the co-author of a new study analyzing the fertilization proposal, published this week in the journal Nature's Scientific Reports.

He says more research is needed to further analyze what types of impacts ocean fertilization would have on marine ecosystems.


*-- Photo shows space station traveling across sun's face --*
WASHINGTON - The International Space Station was photographed as it orbited across the face of the sun on Sunday.

Images of the space station's path were combined to create a composite photo and released on Tuesday by NASA. According the U.S. space agency, the photos were captured from Virginia's Shenandoah National Park.

ISS travels around the Earth at an orbital speed of 17,100 miles per hour and an altitude of 250 miles. The space station completes an orbit every 92.6 minutes, and can often be seen lit by the sun as it passes across the night sky.

It typically takes roughly ten minutes for the craft to move from one horizon to the other. When visible, it's the brightest manmade object in the sky.

ISS is currently hosting a crew of nine -- larger than usual. On Friday, three of the nine will depart for Earth. Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka will return as the most experienced space traveler in history, having logged 879 days in orbit. He will be joined on the trip home by Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen, and Kazakhstan cosmonaut Aidyn Aimbetov.

Among the remaining six are NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, who are now halfway through their year-long stint aboard the space station.

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