ocean alkalinity enhancement

A research strategy for ocean-based carbon dioxide removal and sequestration, pp 181-208. This way, alkalinity added to the top one meter of the ocean will absorb CO2 directly from the atmosphere. First, how much CO2 is permanently moved from the atmosphere to the ocean and how quickly does this happen (carbon accounting)? The road maps are intended to catalyze global collaboration and engagement and will be updated and refined as advances emerge in science, technology, governance, and policy. It involves the dissolution of alkaline minerals such as quick lime, CaO, and hydrated lime, Ca(OH) 2. For this reason, Planetary is developing a detailed framework aimed at ensuring alkalinity addition at any site is preceded by detailed research and . Currently, most efforts to address climate change are focused on reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. The ocean covers more than 70 percent of the planet. Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) may be a relatively safe way of storing CO 2 in the ocean, potentially for thousands of years. Led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Assistant Scientist Adam V. Subhas and Associate Scientist Z. Aleck Wang, this project will explore the implications of the naturally-occurring seasonally enhanced alkalinity flux from the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico, and . Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Ocean alkalinity enhancement involves adding alkalinity to ocean waters, either by discharging alkaline rocks or through an electrochemical process, which increases ocean pH levels and thereby enables greater uptake of carbon dioxide, as well as reducing the adverse impacts of ocean acidification. Increasing ocean pH via alkalinity enhancement may then be directly beneficial for organisms that are vulnerable to ocean acidification. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests that even aggressive mitigation measures to reduce CO2 emissions will have to be complemented with carbon dioxide removal (CDR) on the order of 1001000 billion tons of CO2 before the end of the 21st century to avert the worst consequences of climate change. TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF OCEAN ALKALINITY ENHANCEMENT Ocean alkalinty increases with excess atmospheric CO 2 When excess atmospheric CO 2 passively diffuses into the ocean, much of that CO 2 is quickly hydrated to form carbonic acid. Although the basic chemistry of ocean alkalinization is well understood and the individual components of most approaches are well developed, ocean alkalinization itself remains in the early stages of research and development. Large-scale and permanent modification of seawater carbon chemistry will have desired and undesired environmental impacts, and these impacts are likely to differ across the various modes of alkalinity addition. However, meeting climate mitigation targets with land-based CDR alone will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, because the ocean governs the atmospheric CO2 concentration and acts as the natural thermostat of Earth, simply because the ocean contains more than 50 times as much carbon as the atmosphere (Sarmiento and Gruber, 2002). Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement aims to replicate the rock weathering process and speed it up. Ocean alkalinity plays a major role in ocean's carbon uptake, in buffering, and in calcium carbonate production and dissolution, and it impacts and is affected by various biogeochemical processes. Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) is a proposed method to counteract climate change by increasing the alkalinity of the surface ocean and thus the chemical storage capacity of seawater for atmospheric CO 2.The impact of OAE on marine ecosystems, including phytoplankton communities which make up the base of the marine food web, are largely unknown. That is, the technologies to extract, process, and transport minerals are all mature, but research on ocean alkalinization remains mostly at the level of theoretical work and laboratory experiments, with a few coastal experiments in development. There are different ways to add alkalinity to the ocean. Introduction. This team will also set up a handful of pre-permitted test-bed sites for field work, prototype testing, and early deployment. The Calcium oxide is then stored in the ocean. Ocean alkalinization is an approach to carbon removal that involves adding alkaline substances to seawater to enhance the oceans natural carbon sink. In the absence of data from mesocosm and field trials, it is difficult to predict these changes and to develop meaningful frameworks for monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV). ocean pH against the hazard from alkalinity enhancement is a challenge for marine and social scientists, ethicists, and for ocean governance. Development Gaps and Needs. Billions of tons of alkaline minerals such as olivine, basalt, and carbonate are readily available to be mined and could be applied to beaches or the open ocean. Discussions are meant to inform understanding of the knowledge base, efficacy, scale, and viability to each approach. Once we . The ocean already holds more carbon than any other part of the biosphere and has the potential to contribute even more. Award Amount. Ocean alkalinity enhancement is an approach to carbon removal that involves adding alkaline substances to seawater to accelerate the oceans natural carbon sink. September 01, 2020 to May 31, 2023. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Adding alkalinity to the ocean removes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere through a series of reactions that convert dissolved CO2 into stable bicarbonate and carbonate molecules, which in turn causes the ocean to absorb more CO2 from the air to restore equilibrium. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests that even aggressive mitigation measures to reduce CO, The ocean already contains 50 times more CO, Developing the most efficient deployment strategy requires identifying and understanding the main factors that will impact CDR efficacy. As the expression suggests, ocean alkalinity management imitates naturally occurring phenomenasuch as erosion of calcium containing rocks from land to sea and dissolution of empty shells that reduce both ocean acidification and atmospheric CO 2 levels. 2022. When applied to the ocean, EW of minerals is achieved by adding large amounts of pulverized silicate or carbonate rock or their dissolution products, which adds alkalinity to the surface ocean and thereby locks CO2 into other forms of DIC, which is expected to promote atmospheric CO2 influx into the ocean. 2022 Ocean Visions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any MRV framework will have to focus on two major questions however. Developing the most efficient deployment strategy requires identifying and understanding the main factors that will impact CDR efficacy. Estimated costs for the various methods, while highly uncertain, generally range from $70160 per ton of CO2, but net costs may be as low as $3 per ton for methods that produce hydrogen as a byproduct. This will cause an elevation of ocean alkalinity, leading to the enhancement of the ocean as a reservoir for CO 2, which would cause further invasion of e CO2 from the atmosphere to the ocean. In this consensus report, OAE stands out as a potentially efficient and highly scalable CDR pathway that permanently sequesters CO2. It is also possible for alkalinity to be rapidly consumed by formation of secondary minerals such as clays and carbonates. Land-based CDR methods such as afforestation or bioenergy with carbon capture and storage have received much attention recently. Atlanta, Georgia, February 1, 2022: Additional Ventures is partnering with Ocean Visions and a consortium of philanthropic funders to announce the Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) Research Award. Distance between alkalinity sources and optimal distribution points could also be an influential factor. The cost of ocean alkalinity enhancement will vary depending on the alkalinity source, transport, and distribution methods of alkalinity in the ocean. The Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement R&D Program is an ambitious effort to evaluate the technical feasibility of alkalinity enhancement as an efficient method for sequestering atmospheric CO2, and to identify under what conditions it could be deployed safely. The ocean already contains 50 times more CO2than the atmosphere and has an enormous capacity to permanently sequester more. CDR inefficiencies and challenges around carbon accounting stem from processes that occur once the alkalinity source is added to the seawater. The organisation, in partnership with Ocean Visions and a consortium of philanthropic funders, is offering funding for scientific teams to systematically assess whether OAE can safely, permanently and cost-effectively sequester atmospheric CO2 at scale. The oceans already hold roughly 38,000 billion tons of carbon; their capacity to store additional carbon is, for practical purposes, unlimited. Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement. This is a carbon and energy expensive process, where approximately 0.8 tonnes of CO2 are produced at a point source for every tonne sequestered. The report estimates $125 . The Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement R&D Program is an ambitious effort to evaluate the technical feasibility of alkalinity enhancement as an efficient method for sequestering atmospheric CO 2, and to identify under what conditions it could be deployed safely. Electrochemical CDR Macroalgae Cultivation and Carbon Sequestration Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement Growing and Maintaining Public Support Expanding Finance and Investment All rights reserved. The goal of ocean alkalinity enhancement is to accelerate the carbon-absorbing weathering of rock, which naturally occurs as rainfall washes over land into waterways and eventually the ocean.. Therefore, this approach has the potential to not only remove atmospheric CO2 but also counteract ocean acidification and thus contribute to the restoration of ecosystems threatened by it. The bad news is that it will take thousands of years to do it. so, then this alkalinity can be produced in vast quantities in the ocean dead zones and distributed across the ocean's surface. These include spreading finely ground alkaline substances over the open ocean, depositing alkaline sand or gravel on beaches or coastal flats, and reacting seawater with alkaline minerals inside reactors before releasing the modified seawater back into the ocean. This approach is broadly inspired by Earths modulation of alkalinity on geological timescales. Ocean Visions CDR Community brings together stakeholders to advance the state of knowledge, build bridges across disciplines, and help the community move towards safe and equitable testing and piloting of the most promising ocean-based CDR approaches. These are artificial upwelling (AU), ocean iron fertilization (OIF), ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE), and ocean afforestation (Fig. In the absence of data from mesocosm and field trials, it is difficult to predict these changes and to develop meaningful frameworks for monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV). 2018. Copyright 2022 Additional Ventures. OAE can, at least on paper, sequester billions tons of CO2annually for tens or even hundreds of thousands of years, imitating geologic weathering processes that have sequestered trillions of tons of atmospheric CO2in the ocean over millennia. Over hundreds of thousands of years, the carbonate species end up at the bottom of the ocean where they form carbonate rock. The resulting CO2 deficit in surface waters is quickly rebalanced via a net movement of atmospheric CO2 into the ocean, to reestablish equilibrium. This transformation can help de-acidify seawater, turning the chemical clock of the ocean back to pre-industrial times. Below is a visual representation of key quantitative and qualitative results summarized by NASEM (2021, Table S.1 therein). Adding alkalinity via natural or enhanced weathering is counteracted by the precipitation of carbonate, which reduces alkalinity and, in todays ocean, is driven almost entirely by calcifying organisms. The report says there is high confidence in its efficacy. This process occurs naturally over geologic time as alkalinity is produced through the slow weathering of rocks, such as limestone or basalt, and subsequent runoff of the alkaline molecules into the ocean. While those efforts remain vital, theyre no longer enough. The knowledge base available for each method and . When theres excess CO2, the process accelerates and when theres less, it slows down. 2. These could have both positive and negative impacts on the marine ecosystem and change the composition of phytoplankton communities. Whilst mineral dissolution in the ocean is undoubtedly a natural process, there is a much wider debate on where the boundary between . "Ocean alkalinity enhancement has the potential to offset the effects of ocean acidification by increasing pH levels and neutralizing the CO2 building up in the water," he says. Enhance the understanding of sustainable Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement as a carbon dioxide removal (CDR) method. The energy to create alkalinity is comparable to the energy to synthesize seashells! . Download an overview of the Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement R&D Program. Ocean alkalinity enhancement carries medium environmental risks and medium to high scale-up costs. Adding alkalinity via natural or enhanced weathering is counteracted by the precipitation of carbonate, which reduces alkalinity and, in today's ocean, is driven almost entirely by calcifying organisms. One proposed ocean-based CDR technique is ocean alkalinity1 enhancement (OAE) (Figure 7.1), also termed enhanced weathering (EW), proposed by Kheshgi (1995). Raw material production (e.g., mining, grinding, transport) and the energy sources which are used will greatly influence the net CO2removal. Impacts on human industry. Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement is the process of increasing the pH of the ocean very slightly with the goal of enhancing the ability of the ocean to absorb and safely lock away carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This alkalinity is then moved to the ocean and is used to enhance the oceans natural alkalinity. Much research remains to be done to assess the efficacy and side effects of various approaches. We must also clean up the legacy greenhouse gas pollution already in our atmosphere. As Tim Flannery puts it, you can consider the ocean as a mirror of the atmosphere when it comes to CO2. Ocean alkalinization is an approach to carbon removal that involves adding alkaline substances to seawater to enhance the ocean's natural carbon sink. Calcium oxide is created when temperatures of ca. 3 and Table 1). This amounts to capturing carbon dioxide and trapping it back in mineral form. Ocean alkalinity enhancement is an approach to carbon removal that involves adding alkaline substances to seawater to accelerate the oceans natural carbon sink. Irrespective of the mode of alkalinity enhancement, estimated costs remain above (or close to) $100 per net ton removed, largely as a result of high energy costs. There are several ways to add alkalinity to the ocean. This process provides needed alkalinity and minerals to marine life especially anything that makes a shell. This process is generally considered beneficial since the additional alkalinity provided helps the ocean to maintain the appropriate pH. And the best part is this. "Enhanced Weathering (EW)" and "Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE)" are two related NETs which are among the options to realize CDR ( Figure 1 ). Ren. This enhanced weathering could theoretically increase CO2 sequestration in the ocean. 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Seaweed cultivation involves the growing of . Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement Climate change is having an impact on across the world, and urgent action needs to be taken! Raw material production (e.g., mining, grinding, transport) and the energy sources which are used will greatly influence the net CO. removal. Among various ocean negative-carbon-emission approaches or ocean-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies, ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) is an approach that will decrease sea surface p CO 2 via the addition of alkaline materials and promote CO 2 uptake from the atmosphere. Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) is one of several proposed techniques for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in the oceans. The mission of Ocean Visions is to develop innovative and durable solutions to complex challenges facing our ocean. Increasing ocean pH via alkalinity enhancement may then be directly beneficial for organisms that are vulnerable to ocean acidification. Ocean-based approaches were beyond the scope of the NASEM study, posing the risk of delayed maturation in this area, and a reduction in the total CDR achievable by 2100. At the present time, the oceans are about 30% more acidic than they were at the start of the industrial revolution. The mechanism were using in this project is to use electrochemistry to produce a pure, mild form of alkalinity. In theory, ocean alkalinization could remove many billions of tons of CO2 per year, limited mainly by the extraction, processing, and application of alkaline substances: each ton of removal through ocean alkalinization requires processing roughly 13.5 tons of material. Ocean Alkalinization When minerals such as silicate or even lime are crushed and distributed, they bind CO 2 in the weathering process. Scalable CDR pathway that permanently sequesters CO2 Table S.1 therein ) Program designed And laboratory identifying and understanding the main factors that will impact CDR efficacy OAE to ocean. 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