RE: NOVA / FRONTLINE

["Bjorn Cedervall" <bcradsafers@hotmail.com>]

Dave and others,

I was too fast here - and only reflecting over the longterm capacity - that 
is what the deep oceans _can_ swallow - but my comment was not about the 
kinetics and the context of 10-50 years (I apologize). Your lines below are 
therefore most relevant of course. Actually my comment was triggered by an 
entirely different context area: The question of whether there are deep 
sources of carbon gas (methane etc) from the inner of the Earth (what is the 
explosive stuff in volcanoes - hydrogen gas?) - the carbon seems to be in 
different locations depending on where we are in our planetary system 
(frozen methane & ethane further out).

Greenhouse etc:
I would guess that the transients for dissolving CO2 in the seas is in the 
order of decades or even more. The transients from shallow water to deep sea 
oceans are in the order of 500 years or more so it is definitely a long term 
process. I am well aware of people living on islands which are threatened 
because of the ocean levels increasing. There are also large agricultural 
areas that could be affected in a negative way. We all know about the other 
hazards that come from using fossil fuels. I would never use the deep ocean 
capacity as an argument for not considering the green house effect.

Bjorn Cedervall  bcradsafers@hotmail.com
------
>From: "Neil, David M" <neildm@id.doe.gov>
>It's been quite a while since Marine Chemistry, but as I recall it, >this 
>capture cycle takes a long time.  I don't recall all the >processes, but I 
>do recall that calcium carbonate is mainly taken up >by foraminifers near 
>the surface and it redissolves in the water >below a certain depth.
>
>Dave Neil		neildm@id.doe.gov
>
>Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them.
>
> > The large deposit/sink is the deep oceans in the form of carbonates - I
> > doubt that land life has to swallow all that (if you are having Venus in 
>mind - remember that it is much warmer/hotter there).

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