4 ms·

It dissolves in water quickly. Then big algae bloom, lots of dead fish. Mammals handle it OK. Ammonia can directly act as a nitrogen fertilizer, and plants lov

It dissolves in water quickly. Then big algae bloom, lots of dead fish. Mammals handle it OK. Ammonia can directly act as a nitrogen fertilizer, and plants love that. Mammals quickly convert it in their livers, but aquatic animals can't handle having it in their bloodstream and die quickly from it. High concentrations can overwhelm the liver, and then its toxic even for humans. Pure, ammonia vapor is incredibly toxic and even tiny concentrations are bad for the mucosa.

pfdietz 2y ago
I believe in much of the ocean nitrogen is not the limiting nutrient for plant growth, because while it can be fixed from dissolved molecular nitrogen, there's no direct major source of things like phosphorus or iron. Things would be different near coasts where sediment is washing in.
giardini 2y ago
What could possibly go wrong? pbmonster says "Pure, ammonia vapor is incredibly toxic and even tiny concentrations are bad for the mucosa." As in "dissolves the mucosa"! The 1976 ammonia truck disaster: In 1976 a truck of ammonia gas ruptured on a freeway interchange in Houston. The scene was akin to early World War I gas warfare. The Houston Post newspaper office building was about a half mile from the spill. The ammonia cloud rolled over and past the building in minutes but quick-witted building engineers shut down the air circulation system so no one inside was hurt. The greenery around the building and area was scorched brown by the passing heavier-than-air ammonia cloud: "How A Deadly Cloud In Houston Decades Ago Led To ‘Shelter-In-Place’ (good pic of the initial truck explosion):" https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2016/04/25/144853/how-a-deadly-cloud-in-houston-decades-ago-led-to-shelter-in-place/ https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2016/04/25/... Film footage of the scene and victims - moderately gory: "The worst accident in Houston history: The 1976 ammonia truck disaster": https://abc13.com/ammonia-truck-disaster-houston/1332062/ https://abc13.com/ammonia-truck-disaster-houston/1332062/

pfdietz 2y ago

I believe in much of the ocean nitrogen is not the limiting nutrient for plant growth, because while it can be fixed from dissolved molecular nitrogen, there's no direct major source of things like phosphorus or iron. Things would be different near coasts where sediment is washing in.

giardini 2y ago

What could possibly go wrong? pbmonster says "Pure, ammonia vapor is incredibly toxic and even tiny concentrations are bad for the mucosa." As in "dissolves the mucosa"! The 1976 ammonia truck disaster: In 1976 a truck of ammonia gas ruptured on a freeway interchange in Houston. The scene was akin to early World War I gas warfare. The Houston Post newspaper office building was about a half mile from the spill. The ammonia cloud rolled over and past the building in minutes but quick-witted building engineers shut down the air circulation system so no one inside was hurt. The greenery around the building and area was scorched brown by the passing heavier-than-air ammonia cloud: "How A Deadly Cloud In Houston Decades Ago Led To ‘Shelter-In-Place’ (good pic of the initial truck explosion):" https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2016/04/25/144853/how-a-deadly-cloud-in-houston-decades-ago-led-to-shelter-in-place/ https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2016/04/25/... Film footage of the scene and victims - moderately gory: "The worst accident in Houston history: The 1976 ammonia truck disaster": https://abc13.com/ammonia-truck-disaster-houston/1332062/ https://abc13.com/ammonia-truck-disaster-houston/1332062/