Mcdr
Marine carbon dioxide removal Maybe considered by some to be emerging technology in the continued efforts to combat the climate crisis.
It is certainly true that applications have only recently closed for the Small marine carbon dioxide removal pilots that are worth $100 million, which were announced by the United States government in October last year. https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2023/10/06/marine-carbon-dioxide-removal-potential-ways-to-harness-the-ocean-to-mitigate-climate-change/
This follows the £24 million of funding on 17 projects Announced in october 2023
https://oceanacidification.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FY23_NOPP_mCDR_Awards_full_list.pdf.
Technological solutions have been emerging in the field of marine carbon dioxide removal for many years and natural solutions have existed forever . The fossil record had the oldest known copepods at the early Cretaceous period (146 - 65.5 million years ago, while
the researchers contend that the oldest orders of copepods originate from the Cambrian period (542 – 488 million years ago) https://www.natureasia.com/en/nmiddleeast/article/10.1038/nmiddleeast.2010.192#:~:text=The%20fossil%20record%20had%20the,%2D%2065.5%20million%20years%20ago).
The oldest known fossils of mangrove palm date to 75 million years ago.
early
Copepods play a critical role in the carbon cycle of the planet - they mediate the sequestration of carbon into the deep ocean and are the trophic link between phytoplankton and marine food webs. Global change stressors that decrease copepod productivity create the potential for catastrophic positive feedback loops. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37492146/
This seaQuest station of carbon into the deep ocean is mimicked by one of the proposed Marine carbon dioxide removal technologies; biomass sinking. From Macroalgae to wood chips, biomass sinking is an MCR technology that is gaining traction and attracting interest.
Biomass sinking proposes to take terrestrial or ocean biomass and sink it into the deep ocean where it is sequestered for thousands of years. This can be accomplished by large-scale seaweed farming, which incorporates atmospheric CO2 as it grows, and then is sunk to the ocean floor. The premise for biomass sinking as a CDR approach is that microbial activity and carbon degradation are minimal in the deep ocean.Further research on the potential ecosystem impacts on the deep ocean from biomass sinking is required before large-scale deployment of this approach can be rolled out. Projects that use terrestrial biomass for ocean sinking face an additional hurdle of ensuring that the biomass sourcing is done sustainably and does not represent significant competition with existing terrestrial biomass use and doesn’t lead to land use practice changes.
Two Ocean alkalinity enhancement this technology involves the addition of alkaline to the seas the alkaline neutralises the acidity that has been created by excess CO2 and so more capacity for Darkside take up
Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) consists of injecting a basic (high pH) solution such as sodium hydroxide into the ocean, increasing the alkalinity of seawater and hence countering the harm of ocean acidification and increasing its natural capacity to sequester CO2. Durable carbon removal occurs through the creation of carbonate precipitates, which are naturally channelled to the seabed where they remain for geological timescales (10000+ years). OAE can be deployed in coastal areas, making use of existing effluent fluxes into our seas and oceans (from wastewater treatment of desalinization processes for instance) or directly into the ocean, discharging from cargo ships or dedicated vessels. The challenge for the deployment of OAE relates to the characterization of ocean dilution mechanisms and current fluxes, ensuring that alkalinity pockets are not accidentally created following OAE activities. The need for detailed characterization of potential ecosystem impacts has been highlighted by experts and research is currently underway in this area to enable the definition of detailed risk assessments.
Three direct ocean capture this is the extraction and removal of calm Darkside from the ocean in a gaseous form and then either utilising that Darkside or storing it.
Oceans are much denser than the atmosphere, which means that the concentration of marine CO2 is about 150 times higher volumetrically than that of atmospheric CO2. As such, using DOC to capture carbon dioxide is proportionally less energy intensive than removing it from the air using DAC.
restoring the earth’s carbon balance by exploiting a fundamental law of nature.
Henry’s Law states that the levels of gas dissolved in a liquid is always directly proportional to the pressure of that gas in the atmosphere above. In pre-Industrial times, the proportion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was around 280 parts-per-million; now, that figure has risen to around 420ppm and the rise in atmospheric CO2means the amount of CO2 dissolved in seawater has increased proportionally as well.*
Henry’s law is why carbonated drinks bubble—the amount of CO2 dissolved in the drink is greater than the amount in the air, so it bubbles out of the liquid in a pleasing, effervescent way.
Captura leverages Henry’s Law to restore the planet’s carbon balance by effectively running the fizzy drink carbonation process in reverse. Its facilities remove CO2 from seawater, making room for more atmospheric CO2 to bubble down into the ocean to maintain the Henry’s Law equilibrium.
Electrodialysis.
Four Microalgae Cultivation and Sequestration proposes to boost the natural carbon cycle of the oceans by providing artificial fertilization of phytoplankton in nutrient-poor waters. This can be achieved either by direct fertilization at the surface or by artificial upwelling of deeper nutrient-rich waters. The aim is to increase the natural sequestration of carbon through the ocean food web by increasing the growth of phytoplankton, which are the first link in the ocean food chain, and hence boost its activity.
The economic feasibility of ocean fertilization approaches remains to be proven and questions have been raised about their potential ecosystem impacts. It appears essential to clearly identify nutrient-depleted zones in the ocean and limit ocean fertilization approaches to these areas to avoid risks of creating harmful ecosystem impacts such as the creation of anoxic zones or algal blooms.
Technology solutions to MCdr may cause alarm as forms of geo engineering but we also be necessary as The IPCC have concluded that CDR is required to limit global warming to 1.5C .
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/downloads/outreach/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_Factsheet_CDR.pdf
This is the target scientist believe will contain consequences of global warming to avoid the very worst consequences , It is the ambition of science based targets, and central to the Paris agreement legally binding international treaty on climate change.
What is certain is that each of the technologies have a different and potentially conflicting approach To managing marine potential for the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Collaboration and coordination between such technologies is essential for optimising their success. This is to ensure that the technologies do not inadvertently work against one another and also to facilitate the enhancement of each individual technology in working together. locational efficacy avoidance of inadvertent adverse effects such as on fishing wind farm and nature.
The delicate ecosystem balance that is the ecosystem of our oceans are essential to climate management.
Collaboration and coordination between such technologies is essential for optimising their success.
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