Global warming is the most important environmental issue facing modern society. Left unchecked, global warming will cause a significant increase in planet temperatures, triggering devastating and irreversible changes to our environment and society.

One area of recent research to combat global warming concerns “algae farms”. These farms harness photosynthesis to provide a highly effective way of removing CO2, a major greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere. Furthermore, the quickly-growing algae in these farms can be harvested to produce biofuels, a clean alternative to fossil fuels currently used worldwide, further reducing CO2 emissions.

With a well designed artificial lighting system and air distribution system, very dense algae farms could be produced which could have a significant impact on CO2 content in the air immediately surrounding it. These farms could be built into transportable containers which could be moved as needed.

The problem is that without a good way to move CO2-rich air to this farm, the farm’s range is limited.

In this problem we’ll explore how we might harness advection, air currents caused by differences in air temperatures, and these farms to optimally battle global warming.

Good luck!