NOT so much climate hacking as ecosystem hacking. Dumping iron into the Pacific off the coast of Canada last July was done not to change the climate but to boost salmon numbers, says Russ George, the project鈥檚 chief scientist.
The has been at the centre of a media storm since The Guardian newspaper that the HSRC had 鈥渇ertilised鈥� the Pacific with iron. Iron fertilises plankton blooms, and can be used to cool the climate if the plankton sinks and traps carbon.
George says the project was begun by Old Massett village on the Haida Gwaii islands, which has been struggling to restore its salmon fishery. 鈥淭he village has invested millions of dollars in its dreams of bringing its fish back.鈥�
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聯The village has invested millions of dollars in its dreams of bringing back its fish聰
They got the idea after dust from a volcanic eruption caused a plankton bloom, leading to in 2010 (). An says the iron dump caused an 鈥渋mmediate shift from scarcity to abundance in sea life鈥�.
George says the HSRC looked at selling carbon credits to recover costs, if the plankton bloom traps carbon, but this was not the main reason for dumping the iron.
The Canadian environment agency is investigating whether or not the dump violated its Environmental Protection Act, which permits only 鈥渓egitimate research鈥�.
