Author Archive for mmaheigan – Page 3

Global network of SOLAS mCDR nodes

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Wednesday, December 4th, 2024 

Timeline

Phase 1 (~ 3 months)

  • Establish 6 regional nodes covering Europe, Africa, Asia, North America (via OCB), South America, and Oceania building on and extending the existing global SOLAS network.
  • Each regional node will agree on a leader/team of leaders.

Phase 2 (~ 4 months)

  • Each regional node will be working on developing guidelines for monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) for marine CO2 removal.
  • After 6 months each node shall submit a summary report addressing the following key questions:

Our goal is reaching consensus on what monitoring, reporting and, verification (MRV) needs to achieve to be considered “satisfactory, yet achievable”.a

Monitoring

  • How far into the future do we have to monitor “removed CO2”?
  • Do we have to measure CO2 removal or is modelling acceptable for all (or some) aspects of monitoring marine CDR?
  • Should MRV be restricted to CO2 or would other processes affecting radiative forcing (e.g., methane or albedo) need to be essential components of an MRV framework?

Reporting

  • How, where, and in what form should data be made available?
  • How should we deal with “residual uncertainty”b in MRV frameworks?

Verification

  • Who is verifying the data and how?
  • Which agency is overseeing the process (e. g. UNFCCC?)

It may not be possible to answer all of these questions satisfactorily. However, attempts to answer them by the continental nodes and their subsequent synthesis will be a first step and help to develop an internationally agreeable MRV framework.

Our synthesis shall be published as “Policy Brief” in a peer-reviewed journal (including all activec participants).

 

 

asatisfactory, yet achievable means that MRV should be strict enough to be considered robust, but not too strict so that it becomes impossible to achieve.

bthis refers to uncertainty that potentially exists but currently not quantifiable (e.g. the loss of efficiency in ocean alkalinity enhancement due to biotic calcification).

cactive refers to participants that participate in meetings and engage in the process of answering the questions above in a constructive manner.

 

Watch the first meeting (timeline, goals, products) of the SOLAS mCDR Global Regional node group.

Northeast regional node

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Wednesday, December 4th, 2024 

Coming soon…

Southeast regional node

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Wednesday, December 4th, 2024 

We are currently looking to identify diverse stakeholders in the Southeast who would like to connect with the Southeast regional node – find more information about the node below, and if interested please fill out this interest form

Gulf of Mexico node

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Wednesday, December 4th, 2024 

On the evening of February 19, 2024 members of the Gulf of Mexico (GMx) Regional Node Working Group on Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR) met for the first time. They kicked off the first night of the Ocean Sciences Meeting in New Orleans, a week for oceanographers across all disciplines to share their work. The evening began with a networking hour co-hosted by Carbon to Sea, Exploring Ocean Iron Solutions (ExOIS), [C]Worthy, and Ocean Visions. Leaders from the mCDR industry gathered amid the bluish glow of the tarpon exhibit at the Audubon Aquarium for a night of meaningful conversation and shared connections. After networking, members of the GMx node group moved to a breakout room for their own meeting.

This launched a new effort to address climate challenges in the Gulf Coast's unique ecological landscape. Framed by its vital connection to the Caribbean Sea through the dynamic Gulf Stream, GMx is nourished and challenged by the substantial discharge from the Mississippi River. This area is a nexus of environmental contrasts, grappling with coastal hazards such as hurricanes, escalating sea level rise, and the distressing phenomenon of coral reef bleaching.

Marine carbon dioxide removal has the potential to shape the future of the Gulf. Members sharing this belief attended the meeting to connect through local knowledge and goal setting. Nineteen participants from the Gulf region and beyond, including Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Georgia, and the Bahamas, participated in a series of interactive activities (Figure 1). After introductions, they clustered into groups according to these regions of origin and were asked to highlight several challenges and opportunities unique to their area. A few of these opportunities are:

  • High nutrient and carbon input from the Mississippi River, enhancing primary productivity.
  • The river’s buoyancy extends the residence time of coastal waters, facilitating sediment settling and potentially enhancing mCDR.
  • Integrating wetlands, estuarine, and marine environments supports diverse mCDR strategies.
  • Existing oil and gas infrastructure could support new mCDR initiatives, with significant interest from the private sector.

These challenges and opportunities then became the center of discussion. While consensus on specific actions was not reached, the group found a common interest in the environmental and socio-economic impacts of mCDR. Members closed the session by sharing two personal or professional goals for the upcoming year.

Moving forward, the group strategy involves seeking co-production opportunities with industry and non-profit partners. Possible projects include the development of an MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification) toolbox and a foundational study outlining regional mCDR opportunities. Highlighting these opportunities is essential to attract government and private investment and unite stakeholders around shared objectives. The newly formed GMx node left their kickoff meeting feeling energized to develop these plans further and launch them into action.

 

 

California Current mCDR Node

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Sunday, December 1st, 2024 

The California Current mCDR Node convened a workshop on October 7-8, 2024 in California (in partnership with California Ocean Science Trust and Southern California Coastal Water Research Project). The workshop will address topics related to the environmental effects, both positive and negative, of mCDR. Attendees represent federal, state, and local agencies, NGOs, industry, and scientists. The goal of the workshop is to foster dialogue among these California sectors and advance on a framework for assessing environmental effects of mCDR.

 

New Ocean Metaproteomics paper

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Friday, November 8th, 2024 

New Ocean Metaproteomics paper published (web link and pdf link) to help promote proteomics in environmental settings. The study is open access. This paper is a product of OCB’s Intercomparison of Ocean Metaproteomic Analyses.

Capacity Building in Physical Chemistry for Oceanography

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Friday, October 25th, 2024 

Earlier this year, we conducted an online survey and consultation with the broader ocean science community to assess what we perceive as emerging skills gaps in basic physical chemistry training and expertise in several areas of chemical oceanography, especially (but not exclusively) including the ocean carbonate system. In the survey, we asked just for this information:

  1. Expertise, applications, and professional roles
  2. Opinions concerning skills gaps in physical chemistry for different areas of oceanography and needs for capacity building

We received well over 100 responses, with very many insightful observations and answers to our questions. We invite you to read the brief summary report describing the skill gap survey results and associated community feedback on recommended paths forward. Read the report.

Join us for a virtual community discussion at OA Week in November

To follow up on this survey, we are convening an online community discussion on Tuesday 19 November at 1600-1730 GMT/1100-1230 ET as part of the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON)’s Ocean Acidification (OA) Week 2024. The purpose of this discussion will be to discuss next steps for a community activity (most likely a workshop), including its focus, content, participants, and outcomes to help address the emerging skills gap identified in the survey. Register to participate in this community discussion HERE. If you would like further information, or you represent an organization that would like to participate in this effort, please get in touch with either Heather Benway (hbenway@whoi.edu) or Simon Clegg (s.clegg@uea.ac.uk).

Swirling Currents: How Ocean Mesoscale Affects Air-Sea CO2 Exchange

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Friday, October 25th, 2024 

Due to a sparsity of in‐situ observations and the computational burden of eddy‐resolving global simulations, there has been little analysis on how mesoscale processes (e.g., eddies, meanders—lateral scales of 10s to 100s km) influence air‐sea CO2 fluxes from a global perspective. Recently, it became computationally feasible to implement global eddy‐resolving [O (10) km] ocean biogeochemical models. Many questions related to the influence of mesoscale motions on CO2 fluxes remain open, including whether ocean eddies serve as hotspots for CO2 sink or source in specific dynamic regions.

A recent study in Geophysical Research Letters investigated the contribution of ocean mesoscale variability to air-sea CO2 fluxes by analyzing the CO2 flux anomaly within the mesoscale band using a coarse-graining approach in a global eddy-resolving biogeochemical simulation. We found that in eddy-rich mid-latitude regions, ocean mesoscale variability can contribute to over 30% of the total CO2 flux variability. The cumulative net CO2 flux associated with mesoscale motions is on the order of 105 tC per year. The global pattern of cumulative mesoscale-related CO2 flux exhibits significant spatial heterogeneity, with the highest values in western boundary currents, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, and the equatorial Pacific. The local distribution of cumulative mesoscale-related CO2 flux displays zonal bands alternate between positive (a net source) and negative (a net sink) due to the meandering nature of ocean mesoscale currents, which is related to local relative vorticity and the background cross-stream pCO2 gradient.

Figure caption. Mesoscale (<nominal 2 degree) contribution to air‐sea CO2 flux (F<2°CO2)in the model. (a)–(d) Monthly time series of F<2°CO2 (black lines) and cumulative F<2°CO2 (green/red solid lines) in four locations marked in (e). Dashed lines are the least squares regression of cumulative flux for the period 1982–2000; slopes are indicated in the bottom left; (e) Blue colors imply a CO₂ sink, and red colors represent a source. The figure shows the global distribution of the regressed slopes of cumulative F<2°CO2. Units are converted from mol m-2 per year to kg of CO2 per year using the atomic mass of CO2. This figure shows significant spatial heterogeneity of mesoscale-modulated CO2 flux, showing contributions to both CO₂ sources and sinks across different regions of the ocean, with a magnitude on the order of 105 tC per year.

 

Authors
Yiming Guo (Yale University; now at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Mary-Louise Timmermans (Yale University)

How tiny teeth and their prey shape ocean ecosystems

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Friday, October 25th, 2024 

It has long been suggested that diatoms, microscopic algae enclosed in silica-shells, developed these structures to defend against predators like copepods, small crustaceans that graze diatoms. Copepods evolved silica-lined teeth presumably to counteract this. But actual evidence for how this predator-prey relationship may drive natural selection and evolutionary change has been lacking.

Figure caption: Left: Copepod teeth may suffer damage when feeding on thick-shelled diatoms. The red arrows indicate damage to the copepod tooth, cracks or missing setae. When fed a large diatom, the row of spinose cusps was damaged in all analyzed teeth. Scale bar = 10 µm. Right: A Temora longicornis (ca. 750 µm) copepod tethered to a human hair using super glue, allowing for the capture of high-speed videography to quantify the fraction of cells that eaten or discarded by the copepod. The hair was kindly provided by the first author’s wife.

A recent publication in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. revealed a fascinating dynamic: Copepods that feed on diatoms may suffer significant damage to their teeth, causing them to become more selective eaters. The wear and tear on the copepod teeth were particularly pronounced when copepods consumed thick-shelled diatoms compared to “softer” prey like a dinoflagellate. By glueing copepods to human hair and filming them with a high-speed video camera, the authors found that copepods with damaged teeth were more likely to reject diatoms with thick shells than those with thin shells as prey. Shell thickness varies among and within diatom species and some can respond to copepod presence by increasing shell thickness. A thicker shell, however, may come at a cost to the cell in terms of reduced growth rate or increased sinking speed.  This suggests that the evolutionary “arms race” between diatoms and copepods plays a crucial role in shaping and sustaining the diversity of these species.

Diatoms and copepods are important organisms in global biogeochemical cycles and hence understanding this microscopic interaction can help predict shifts in marine ecosystems, potentially affecting nutrient cycles and food webs that support fisheries.

 

Authors
Fredrik Ryderheim (Technical University of Denmark/University of Copenhagen)
Jørgen Olesen (University of Copenhagen)
Thomas Kiørboe (Technical University of Denmark)

 

Twitter
@fryderheim (Fredrik Ryderheim)
@OlesenCrust (Jørgen Olesen)
@Thomaskiorboe (Thomas Kiørboe)
@OceanLifeCentre (FR, TK group at DTU)
@NHM_Denmark (Natural History Museum of Denmark, JO employer)

OAIC gathering at AGU Fall Meeting 2024

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Tuesday, October 22nd, 2024 
People interested in ocean-atmosphere interactions and SOLAS are meeting up for drinks at AGU –  please come if you can. Everyone is welcome. The meetup will be on Thurs. Dec. 12 at 6:00 PM in Dacha Beer Garden. 1600 7th St NW, Washington DC 20001
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