In the early 90 s a few scientists had the idea that we could potentially curb global warming by dumping large amounts of Fe into the ocean to stimulate NPP and suck out the extra CO2 we are emitting from fossil fuels. Experiments suggest that this does work, but before you dump your used refrigerator in the Pacific, the effect is short lived and probably won't work. We have also seen how ocean circulation helps to establish major climate patterns on earth by transporting heat to the poles and through events like El Nino. Another way that the ocean regulates climate includes sulfur aerosols. When DMS gets into the atmosphere, it reacts with OH radicals to form sulfur aerosols , or small particles that float in the atmosphere.
Aerosols are important because they provide a location for water to condense and form clouds.
This, in turn, would lower DMS production. Here, we have the possibility for biology leading to a global negative feedback on climate. This kind of global feedback of biology on climate have led James Lovelock and others to formulate what is known as the Gaia hypothesis . This hypothesis treats the earth as a living organism that is regulated by a system of feedbacks. I will talk climate, sediment records, and oceans in much greater detail in my paleoecology seminar Spring 00 term.