What is ocean fertilization? Ocean fertilization is characterized as a way to use the ocean as a carbon sink through the introduction of iron into the water, theoretically reducing the release of carbon into the atmosphere and thus reducing global warming. This theory of iron fertilization has been around since the 1920s and was popularized by John Martin of the WHOI in the 1980s. Martin proposed two hypotheses, the first of which is that high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll (HNLC) areas are due to inefficient amounts of iron concentrations. His second hypothesis was that if iron directed production in high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll waters and also took up organic carbon in the deep ocean through the use of the biological pump, then this could explain the observations made through the ice cores he had collected. Ice cores had shown that carbon had a direct relationship with the planet's climate changes. Martin proposed, using his hypotheses, that fertilizing the ocean with iron in these HNLC waters could export atmospheric carbon dioxide into ocean sediments and sequester it for many years. The carbon cycle in reference to ocean fertilization can be explained simply by understanding that phytoplankton use carbon dioxide to grow. Carbon dioxide reaches the ocean surface and is photosynthesized by phytoplankton which in turn turns into larger blooms. These flowers expire and sink to the bottom or are eaten by zooplankton. Zooplankton respire a quantity of carbon dioxide and also release carbon through fecal pellets which then sink to the bottom. Adding iron will cause an increase in blooms of phytoplankton, such as diatoms, which consume carbon during photosynthesis. The... center of the card... ceanus. 2008.vol. 46, #1, 4-9.Cao, L., Caldeira, K. “Can ocean fertilization mitigate ocean acidification?” Climate change. vol. 99, #1-2, 295-329. Liss, P., Chuck, A., Bakker, D., Turner, S. "Fertilization of the ocean with iron: effects on climate and air quality." Say it. 2005.vol. 57B, #3, 269-271. Sarmiento, J.L., Slater, R.D., and Gnanadesikan, A. “Effects of Erratic Ocean Fertilization on Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Biological Production.” Global geobiochemical cycles. 2003.vol. 17, #2, 19-1 – 19-17.Warner, R. “Marine Snowstorms: Assessing the Environmental Risks of Ocean Fertilization.” Review of the Carbon and Climate Act. 2009. 4, 426-436. Rayfuse, R., Lawrence, M.G., Gjerde, and K.M. “Ocean fertilization and climate change: the need to regulate emerging uses on the high seas.” The international journal of maritime and coastal law. 2008.vol. 23, 297-326.