5 ms·

Stupid question, can't the CO2 just be dissolved in (deep) sea water?

by jansan 3y ago

Kye 3y ago
CO2 dissolving into water is killing the ocean as we speak.
- jansan 3y ago
  That is just on the surface, right? The mass of CO2 relased into the air per year compared to total sea water on earth is approx 1/35000. Does is really make such a big difference if dissolved in deep sea water?
  - Kye 3y ago
    We know basically nothing about the ocean other than it's where almost all our oxygen comes from, and we have no way to know what the tipping point is. Assuming we're too small to affect the environment is how we got here. And we know from effects of climate change above the surface that it doesn't have to be cataclysmic to cause trouble. There could be all kinds of nasty things in store that are even harder to predict with how hard it is to explore and study the oceans. We don't even have an accurate map of it.
    - jansan 3y ago
      That sounds like "I just don't want that!". We don't need a map to know how dissolved CO2 influences acidity of sea water. Trust the science, bro.
      - IX-103 3y ago
        "Trust the science, bro." There is much more involved than how dissolved CO2 affects ocean acidity. CO2 has a number of other affects on both biological and chemical systems that shift equilibriums. Understanding how injecting CO2 would affect deep ocean ecosystems (and indirectly upper ocean layers and climate through layer interchange) when we only have a rudimentary understanding of the deep sea ecosystem is not a matter of science. It's the realm of prophecy and hubris. I'm not saying that deep-water injections of CO2 are dangerous. But that at the current level of science we don't even know what we don't know about the possible affects that would have. And with the large amounts of energy required to sequester and pump carbon dioxide into the sea, it would be best if we understood the costs as well as the benefits of such an approach before we started.
jasonhong 3y ago
I'm not an expert in this, but this link from NOAA seems to be a definitive explanation. Short answer is yes, but it also leads to more ocean acidity, which causes problems for ocean life. https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/ocean-acidification https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-co... Carbon dioxide, which is naturally in the atmosphere, dissolves into seawater. Water and carbon dioxide combine to form carbonic acid (H2CO3), a weak acid that breaks (or “dissociates”) into hydrogen ions (H+) and bicarbonate ions (HCO3-). Because of human-driven increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, there is more CO2 dissolving into the ocean. The ocean’s average pH is now around 8.1, which is basic (or alkaline), but as the ocean continues to absorb more CO2, the pH decreases and the ocean becomes more acidic.
- pfdietz 3y ago
  CO2 can be combined with powdered limestone and the result mixed with/dissolved in water.
hannob 3y ago
Yes. I mean, that's happening. Some of the CO2 automatically ends up in the ocean, which reduces the burden for the atmosphere. But what you probably meant is if we can artificially increase the CO2 dissolved in sea water. The answer is no. The CO2 in seawater is relative to the concentration in the atmosphere. If you add more to the atmosphere, you add more to the ocean. If you remove it from the atmosphere, you reduce the amount in the ocean.
- jansan 3y ago
  That is only true for sea water near surface. I am talking about deeper levels of the ocean. If my calculation is correct the mass of CO2 released into the air per year is roughtly 1/35000 the mass of all sea water in the oceans. Sounds not too concentrated to me.

Stupid question, can't the CO2 just be dissolved in (deep) sea water?

by jansan 3y ago

Stupid question, can't the CO2 just be dissolved in (deep) sea water?

Kye 3y ago

CO2 dissolving into water is killing the ocean as we speak.

jansan 3y ago
That is just on the surface, right? The mass of CO2 relased into the air per year compared to total sea water on earth is approx 1/35000. Does is really make such a big difference if dissolved in deep sea water?
- Kye 3y ago
  We know basically nothing about the ocean other than it's where almost all our oxygen comes from, and we have no way to know what the tipping point is. Assuming we're too small to affect the environment is how we got here. And we know from effects of climate change above the surface that it doesn't have to be cataclysmic to cause trouble. There could be all kinds of nasty things in store that are even harder to predict with how hard it is to explore and study the oceans. We don't even have an accurate map of it.
  - jansan 3y ago
    That sounds like "I just don't want that!". We don't need a map to know how dissolved CO2 influences acidity of sea water. Trust the science, bro.
    - IX-103 3y ago
      "Trust the science, bro." There is much more involved than how dissolved CO2 affects ocean acidity. CO2 has a number of other affects on both biological and chemical systems that shift equilibriums. Understanding how injecting CO2 would affect deep ocean ecosystems (and indirectly upper ocean layers and climate through layer interchange) when we only have a rudimentary understanding of the deep sea ecosystem is not a matter of science. It's the realm of prophecy and hubris. I'm not saying that deep-water injections of CO2 are dangerous. But that at the current level of science we don't even know what we don't know about the possible affects that would have. And with the large amounts of energy required to sequester and pump carbon dioxide into the sea, it would be best if we understood the costs as well as the benefits of such an approach before we started.

jasonhong 3y ago

I'm not an expert in this, but this link from NOAA seems to be a definitive explanation. Short answer is yes, but it also leads to more ocean acidity, which causes problems for ocean life. https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/ocean-acidification https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-co... Carbon dioxide, which is naturally in the atmosphere, dissolves into seawater. Water and carbon dioxide combine to form carbonic acid (H2CO3), a weak acid that breaks (or “dissociates”) into hydrogen ions (H+) and bicarbonate ions (HCO3-). Because of human-driven increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, there is more CO2 dissolving into the ocean. The ocean’s average pH is now around 8.1, which is basic (or alkaline), but as the ocean continues to absorb more CO2, the pH decreases and the ocean becomes more acidic.

pfdietz 3y ago
CO2 can be combined with powdered limestone and the result mixed with/dissolved in water.

hannob 3y ago

Yes. I mean, that's happening. Some of the CO2 automatically ends up in the ocean, which reduces the burden for the atmosphere. But what you probably meant is if we can artificially increase the CO2 dissolved in sea water. The answer is no. The CO2 in seawater is relative to the concentration in the atmosphere. If you add more to the atmosphere, you add more to the ocean. If you remove it from the atmosphere, you reduce the amount in the ocean.

jansan 3y ago
That is only true for sea water near surface. I am talking about deeper levels of the ocean. If my calculation is correct the mass of CO2 released into the air per year is roughtly 1/35000 the mass of all sea water in the oceans. Sounds not too concentrated to me.