{"id":222,"date":"2024-12-21T10:11:15","date_gmt":"2024-12-21T10:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/so308-geotraces-g107\/?p=222"},"modified":"2024-12-21T10:11:20","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T10:11:20","slug":"can-the-ocean-help-us-fight-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/so308-geotraces-g107\/2024\/12\/21\/can-the-ocean-help-us-fight-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Can the ocean help us fight climate change?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The ocean has always been one of Earth\u2019s best defences in the fight against anthropogenic climate change. It absorbs about 25% of the carbon dioxide (CO\u2082) we emit, acting as a giant sponge for greenhouse gases. This carbon sink comes at a cost\u2014this extra CO2<\/sub> is making the ocean more acidic, and ocean acidification limits the amount of CO2 <\/sub>the ocean can continue to take in. But what if we could make the ocean even better at this job? Here enters Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE)\u2014a promising carbon removal method that could help tackle climate change by supercharging the ocean\u2019s natural ability to store CO\u2082.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OAE is a process that involves adding certain minerals or alkaline substances to seawater to make it more basic (reversing ocean acidification). When seawater is more alkaline, it can hold onto more CO\u2082 by turning it into stable forms like bicarbonate and carbonate. This means the ocean has space for more CO\u2082, pulling it out of the atmosphere and helping to reduce the warming effects of CO\u2082.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s more, the materials used in OAE\u2014like ground-up rock (olivine), steelmaking byproducts (slag), or even simple substances like sodium hydroxide\u2014are often cheap and widely available. This method sounds all well and good in theory but, as with any big idea, there are questions we need to answer before we apply this one at a large scale. This is particularly true regarding the effects it may have on the ocean\u2019s biology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding how OAE affects phytoplankton (tiny floating plant-like organisms) is crucial because these tiny organisms are more than just fish food\u2014they play a massive role in the ocean\u2019s carbon cycle and, by extension, the Earth\u2019s climate system. If OAE benefits some species of phytoplankton but harms others, it could have ripple effects throughout the ecosystem. Some materials, like steel slag or olivine, contain trace metals such as iron and manganese. These are nutrients that phytoplankton need to grow but are typically scarce in seawater. Adding them might give certain species of phytoplankton a boost, but it could also disrupt the balance of the ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Testing the waters<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To understand how OAE might affect phytoplankton, we conducted 27 experiments on the back deck of the Sonne<\/em> in special incubators that mimic natural conditions. We collected trace metal clean water using a device called a Towfish, which \u201cswims\u201d along beside the ship and continually pumps in surface water into a trace metal clean area of the lab called the Bubble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Towfish is lowered into the water. Photo by Anita Butterley.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the Bubble, we partitioned the seawater into small bottles and added different alkaline materials\u2014like sodium hydroxide, calcium oxide, olivine, and steel slag\u2014to see how they affected the seawater chemistry and phytoplankton, measuring changes over 48 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Anita Butterley inspects a flask of trace metal clean water from the Towfish tube. Photo by Charlotte Eckmann.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A) Incubators at the aft of the ship. B) Close-up of an incubator with experiment bottles. Photos by Anita Butterley.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

OAE is still in its early stages, and there\u2019s a lot we don\u2019t know. But one thing is certain: if we\u2019re serious about tackling climate change, we need bold, creative solutions to deal with the existing excess CO\u2082, even if we find ways to reduce emissions (both processes together are referred to as decarbonisation). By carefully studying the impacts of OAE, we can ensure that it\u2019s not only effective but also safe for the ocean and all of its creatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Anita Butterley, PhD student at the University of Tasmania. Charlotte Eckmann provided edits.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ocean has always been one of Earth\u2019s best defences in the fight against anthropogenic climate change. It absorbs about 25% of the carbon dioxide (CO\u2082) we emit, acting as a giant sponge for greenhouse gases. This carbon sink comes at a cost\u2014this extra CO2 is making the ocean more acidic, and ocean acidification limits […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":265,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/so308-geotraces-g107\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/so308-geotraces-g107\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/so308-geotraces-g107\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/so308-geotraces-g107\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/so308-geotraces-g107\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/so308-geotraces-g107\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":232,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/so308-geotraces-g107\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222\/revisions\/232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/so308-geotraces-g107\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/so308-geotraces-g107\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/so308-geotraces-g107\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}