2022 Geodynamics Program

THURSDAYS: 1:30 – 2:30 P.M.
CLARK LAB 507, QUISSETT CAMPUS, WHOI

(Unless otherwise noted on speaker schedule)

Ocean-based Climate Solutions

The oceans are critically impacted by anthropogenic carbon dioxide pollution, through a combination of ocean warming and acidification. The oceans are a key component of the global carbon cycle, and represent the largest active reservoir of earth-surface carbon. Components of the earth-ocean-atmosphere system operate on timescales ranging from days to millions or even billions of years; these cycles have embedded in them multiple mechanisms for cycling and storing carbon dioxide away from the atmosphere. These biogeochemical cycles are currently being evaluated for their capacity to store anthropogenic carbon dioxide through engineered means. In this course, we examine some of these proposed carbon dioxide removal approaches. The goal of the course is to provide a broad overview of these approaches, and provide enrolled students and the WHOI community with an opportunity to evaluate some of the currently proposed methods for ocean-based carbon dioxide removal.

The series will bring speakers from academia, industry, and policy spaces, and will address topics such as ocean alkalinity enhancement and enhanced weathering; iron fertilization; coastal blue carbon; sub-seafloor carbon storage; chemical engineering and rock mineralization; marine macroalgal culturing and export, and the marine circular bio-economy. Additional focus will be placed on the modeling of these processes; governance and ethics, and the role of social and climate justice in implementing these technologies. We will end the series with a panel discussion on carbon dioxide removal methods, policies, and communication. The field trip is currently being planned for the CarbFix site in Iceland, one of the few carbon capture and storage facilities in the world operating at scale.