Transcript:
The ocean absorbs almost one-third of the world's climate-warming carbon pollution, so it plays a crucial role in limiting global warming.
Scientists are studying ways to help the oceans absorb and store more carbon dioxide.
Alicia Karspec and [C]It is worth mentioning that a nonprofit research team is studying a method called marine alkalinity enhancement.
This method involves adding certain crushed minerals, such as lime or silicate, to the ocean. This increases the alkalinity of water, triggering a chemical process that converts dissolved carbon dioxide into molecules called bicarbonate. Then, carbon locked in this form for thousands of years.
KARSPEC: “It's actually a natural process that has happened over a long geological timeframe, and it's just a matter of accelerating natural processes.”
Doing so can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide dissolved on the ocean surface.
KARSPEC: “…then allow the ocean to actually occupy more carbon from the atmosphere.”
Her team is investigating research methods and monitoring their impact on marine ecosystems and marine chemistry.
There are many questions to answer before deploying it on a large scale, but one day it could provide a way to help reduce climate change.
Report Credit: Sarah Kennedy/Chavobart Digital Media
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