Watch It Wednesday #52

The Ocean plays a critical role in the exchange of carbon and oxygen (and many more elements!) across the Earth’s spheres. It is estimated that over 50% of the oxygen we breathe originates from the marine environment, produced by a range of organisms from phytoplankton to macro algae such as bull kelp. The Ocean also stores an enormous amount of carbon, over 50 times the amount present in the atmosphere.

In the absence of natural processes such as volcanic eruptions or our anthropogenic activities such as land use change and widespread fossil fuel use, the exchange of CO2 between the atmosphere and the Ocean is largely balanced. Since the industrial revolution the uptake of carbon within the ocean has greatly increased, with estimates that currently over 40% of our annual emissions are sequestered in the Ocean.

Researchers and companies are looking at ways in which to maximize the Ocean’s ability to sequester more CO2. These solutions range from the restoration of coastal ecosystems (specifically mangrove forests), to active sequestration via flow reactors, and passive sequestration using olivine. Despite their promise, these are not silver bullet solutions to the climate crisis. We need to focus on reducing emissions across the sectors we rely on. Further, beyond ecosystem restoration, we must ensure that these solutions don’t have unintended consequences such as increasing ocean acidification (the uptake of CO2 is one of the main factors driving Ocean acidification).

Check out the full video for more info!