Scientists Propose Adding Lime to Oceans to Reduce CO2

The oceans already absorb megatons of atmospheric carbon, but scientists say that there’s a way to boost this so that CO2 levels could drop to pre-industrial age levels. The answer sounds like a cocktail recipe: add lime. Limed seawater has boosted alkalinity, which lets it absorb more CO2 and stops it from releasing it back so readily. The idea’s been around for a while, but the new proposition is that lime production should occur in areas rich in energy resources and limestone, but where commercial power generation is overly expensive. One suggested location is Nullarbor Plain in Australia which has limestone and abundant sunlight for solar power. Sounds like a whacky but not-infeasible scheme, though I suspect there’re quite a few “polluting the oceans” concerns to get around before it could be tried out. [Physorg]