The NOAA Ocean Acidification Program on behalf of the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) announces $24.3M of funding aimed at bringing together academic researchers, federal scientists and industry to advance research in marine carbon dioxide removal. Funding supports research that expands understanding of various aspects of marine carbon dioxide removal approaches, risks and co-benefits including ocean acidification mitigation, and science needed to build regulatory frameworks for testing and scaling of marine carbon dioxide removal.

This funding opportunity is the first large-scale public and multi-partner investment of research specifically focused on a suite of marine carbon dioxide removal approaches. Knowledge from the research will assist in assessing the potential of marine carbon dioxide removal as a climate mitigation solution. These awards support 17 projects with partners from 47 institutions. The Inflation Reduction Act provided $14.36M funding for ten of the projects as part of the Investing in Coastal Communities and Climate Resilience provision under NOAA’s U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System Office IRA priorities. This investment supports climate mitigation through research as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.

An additional $10M provided by NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program and Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing Program and NOAA’s appropriations for the NOAA’s National Oceanographic Partnership Program, the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and Water Power Technologies Office, Office of Naval Research, U.S National Science Foundation, and the ClimateWorks Foundation support seven more marine carbon dioxide removal research projects.

CLICK HERE FOR A FULL LIST OF PROJECTS

The NOPP marine carbon dioxide removal projects focus on understanding uncertainties and knowledge gaps for different marine carbon dioxide removal approaches including macroalgal cultivation, ocean alkalinity enhancement, enhanced weathering, and electrochemical approaches. The projects include lab experiments, modeling, field trials, and engaging communities to understand the impacts and effectiveness of various marine carbon dioxide removal strategies. Much of this work aligns with recommended research priorities of the NOAA Strategy for Carbon Dioxide Removal Research.

“The diversity of this research portfolio reflects how many open questions remain about marine carbon dioxide removal,” says Dr. Gabby Kitch, Carbon Dioxide Removal Lead with the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program and University Corporation of Atmospheric Research. “These projects address fundamental questions and can help us move the potential climate mitigation strategy from theory to active research.”

“NOPP serves as a catalyst for the federal ocean agencies to coordinate on large ocean research challenges including marine carbon dioxide removal, ” said Jeremy Weirich, co-chair of the NOPP Interagency Working Group. “I’m glad to see experts across the ocean community – from governments, academia, industry, and philanthropy – work together to maximize resources and funding to advance our climate mitigation knowledge beyond what any one partner could accomplish.”

Research lead by CICOES

Biotic calcification impacts on marine carbon dioxide removal additionality

Principal Investigator: Kelly Kearney

There are several challenges that can limit the efficiency and effectiveness of marine carbon dioxide removal methods. One potential consequence of some methods is increased growth of organisms that build shells out of calcium carbonate, or calcification (shell building). Calcification releases carbon dioxide into seawater, which may reduce the efficiency of carbon removal projects. This project will explore the potential impacts of increased calcification using ocean model simulations.

What we will do
“We need to make sure various ocean alkalinity enhancement techniques not only take up the carbon we expect in the short term, but also hold on to that carbon for hundreds of years” says Dr. Kelly Kearny of the University of Washington CIOCES. “Our project will calculate how big an effect impacts to calcification could potentially have on long-term carbon uptake.” The team will use simulations from two different model frameworks to identify a range of efficiency reductions that could come from calcification. Simulations will be based on proposed real-world applications of marine carbon removal. Accurate estimation of efficiency and the uncertainty of efficiency will be important to determine the value of carbon removal credits in market settings. In addition to testing this important feedback, researchers will also explore natural processes that mimic this calcification feedback with existing ocean carbon data.

Benefit of our work
This project may inform carbon markets and carbon prices/discounts for ocean carbon dioxide removal projects. These results could provide an important way of setting the price – or discount rate. Models like the one produced here are important because the long time scales and large spatial scales involved in this process make it very difficult to measure in a laboratory or at sea.

Investigators
Kelly Kearney, University of Washington (CICOES)
Brendan Carter, University of Washington
Kristen Krumhardt, National Center For Atmospheric Research
Darren Pilcher, University of Washington