From what I have learnt about Permian extinction, the oceans were hit terribly hard by it due to ocean acidification, high temperature (who don’t retain oxygen that good) and lot of euxinic and anoxic zones. This would have been ideal for microbes who thrived in such situations.
So, how did the oceans got oxygenated again even after wide-scale euxinia, especially considering that oceans remained in such state throughout the boring billion?
In: 20
How did the oxygen get there in the first place? Not all of the oxygen-producing creatures were killed off. After millions of years, they had enough time to come back.
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Phytoplankton.
In stages, two in particular..
Keep in mind the Earth returned to bio-stasis over a period of time so vast it is hard for our mind’s to fathom. The creatures that went extinct are gone from this Earth. Much was lost.
The first stage was likely extremophiles and cyanobacteria:
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/extremophile.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanobacteria
https://www.nature.com/articles/ismej2017193
The Earth was likely red and orange. Dead oceans.
The Siberian Traps volcanic fields kept eruption and this aided our atmosphere in becoming very dense, lowering the ocean’s temperatures.
What we consider common phytoplankton returned the Earth to more our understanding of biological stasis:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoplankton#Overview
Phytoplankton are the real hope we have to curb climate change.
Phytoplankton make up 1% of biomass on Earth, but sequester 50-60% of all the Earth’s CO2. T
In today’s oceans phytoplankton blooms can only be found in roughly 20-25% of oceans because of temperature, acidity, salinity.
These blooms support the fisheries that keep us fed.
Much of the surface area is in season areas, as winter in North Atlantic and Artic has limited sunlight. So those 20-25% with phyoplankton blooms are often seasonal.
What this means, for us, is that if we can achieve the energy requirements (fusion/solar) so we could pump cold ocean to surface to create phytoplankton blooms, then we could sequester the CO2 rapidly.
It is achievable, oceans are incompressible fluids and this creates stratification. Where before NOAA thought thermoclines were mixed. Now it turns out they are micro-thermoclines.
Near the equator water that is just 10 meters to 30 meters deep has the temp/pH/salinity. The surface oceans when cool do not evaporate much and we could create these phytoplankton blooms with the right micronutrients provided.
turn back the clock on CO2 in atmosphere, theoretically if 100% of oceans were covered in phytoplankton blooms we could return to 1984 CO2 levels in atmposhere in 10 years. At the current carbon emission… that is impossible.
But perhaps doubling the phytoplankton blooms? That would remove an extra 50% CO2 a year.
Phytoplanktom blooms could be solution to:
1) *Global warming*
2) *Human food supply* with fisheries grow with the blooms
3)*Hurricane mediation* hurricanes and typhoons form when sand dust (aersols) go over hot ocean water seasonally. With proper pumping of cooler ocean water the magnitude could be mediated (we still want the rain for crops)
4) *Save Coral reefs* they need cooler water above them. A piping system which keeps phytoplankton blooming would aid im saving the reefs worldwide. Some phytoplankton secrete a white-buffer alkaline fluid that acts as a pH buffer and blocks UV
5) *End Ocean Piracy* Somalian pirates main issue is that their fisheries from their rivers are overfished. Solve this and the fisherman around Horn of Africa wouldn’t resort to suicide piracy
6) *Save Whales* Larger blooms for whales to eat from and more fish for human food supply would ave whales.
7) *Protect Earth from Super Volcanic ELE* in future a super volcano will erupt. If we have built and know how to operate phytoplankton blooms. The surviving human population could return the Earth to sustainable in future.
So that’s all.
Yes, someone will reply claiming raizing the amount of ocean water for mixing is ‘impossibile.’
I will first reply, nothing that is within the physical laws of the universe is impossible.
For those who really want some hope for our collective future:
Google: perpetual salt fountain
Yes, that phenomena works and has finally been proven to be the saline gradient, deeper ocean water is more electronegative and this helps work as a siphon pulling cooler water upward.
I know quite a bit more about PEEK piping with Reynolds numbers too, so low they are practically frictionless. MAGMA M-piping
With the right amount of energy and augmented manufacturing worldwide.
We can raise the amount of cool ocean water.
**We are going to save the world.**
Synopsis: When Earth has a ELE from volcanic activity or asteroid, the atmosphere becomes dense and ocean temperatures eventually lead to a rise in phytoplanktom blooms worldwide.
The Permian ELE was a dangerous scenario. And the recovery time was very, very long.
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-earths-climate-changes-naturally-and-why-things-are-different-now-20200721/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/rapid-oxygen-changes-fueled-an-explosion-in-ancient-animal-diversity-20190509/
Phytoplankton also require micronutrients to bloom,
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