• Question: How is the CO2 transported into the sea from the air? Is it when the air and water mix as the waves break? Also can lightning transport CO2 into the sea?

    Asked by jammiedodger to Indi, Jarv, John, Ken, Vicky on 15 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: John Prytherch

      John Prytherch answered on 15 Mar 2012:

      Wave breaking is one of the ways, yes. Another main way is diffusion through the sea surface, which is where the molecules of CO2 mix into the sea.

      I don’t think lightning would transport CO2 into the sea, how do you think that might happen?

Comments

  • Photo: jammiedodger

    jammiedodger commented on :

    I thought that perhaps the electricity in the lightning could heat up the particles of air around it making it easier for them to diffuse into the sea because they are moving more freely with more energy… 🙂

  • Photo: John

    John commented on :

    Good point! The rate of diffusion through the sea surface is dependent on temperature, though the solubility of CO2 in seawater (how easy CO2 dissolves into the water) is also dependent on temperature so whether lightning increased or decreased the transfer would be quite a complex question.

    I’ve never thought about the effect of lightning on air-sea CO2 transfer before. On a global scale, it won’t really matter because the amount of air and sea surface that is being struck by lightning is tiny. However, this was a really good point, maybe my favourite question of the competition so far!