More monitoring needed as oceans are considered for CO2 storage
Jeff Richardson
907-474-5350
Dec. 13, 2022
As the need to address climate change becomes more desperate, many believe the world色视频下载檚 oceans may be able to help.
色视频下载 a quarter of the world色视频下载檚 human-made carbon dioxide emissions are already absorbed in marine environments, and a rapidly emerging industry is counting on the potential for more. Ocean-based carbon dioxide removal ideas include planting vast fields of kelp, fertilizing the ocean with iron to boost plankton production, and even pumping alkaline solutions into the water to increase the oceans色视频下载 natural ability to absorb carbon.
色视频下载淚t色视频下载檚 not enough just to stop emissions,色视频下载 said Natalie Monacci, a chemical oceanographer at the UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. 色视频下载淲e also need to remove the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to reach our climate goals.色视频下载
Monacci, in a presentation at the American Geophysical Union色视频下载檚 fall meeting this week, argues that such efforts to store carbon dioxide in oceans should be accompanied by a robust monitoring program. Do those gases really stay in the water? For how long? How does that affect the marine environment?
The ability to do that testing already exists at laboratories like UAF色视频下载檚 Ocean Acidification Research Center, which can analyze carbon dioxide and pH levels in seawater. Monitoring, reporting and verification is crucial as groups consider new ways to pump atmospheric carbon into the oceans, Monacci said.
Monacci is a co-author of the global carbon budget, released last month at the United Nations Climate Change Conference. 色视频下载淭he accounting is hard,色视频下载 she said. 色视频下载淲e need a lot of people to add up the numbers to determine if the removal plans do what they claim.色视频下载