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Scientists Will Engineer the Ocean to Absorb More Carbon Dioxide

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Thursday, September 12, 2024

September 12, 20244 min readScientists Will Engineer the Ocean to Absorb More Carbon DioxideA research consortium plans to revive geoengineering trials of the controversial iron fertilization technique to pull carbon dioxide from the air, despite public backlashBy Alec LuhnThis February 8, 2016 composite image reveals the complex distribution of phytoplankton in one of Earth's eastern boundary upwelling systems — the California Current. NASA/Goddard/Suomin-NPP/VIIRSScientists plan to seed part of the Pacific Ocean with iron to trigger a surface bloom of phytoplankton that will hopefully suck carbon dioxide out of the air, reviving field trials of a geoengineering technique that has been taboo for more than a decade.On Sept. 9, 23 academics from Exploring Ocean Iron Solutions (ExOIS), a not-for-profit, non-commercial consortium, laid out a program in Frontiers in Climate to assess iron fertilization. The researchers want to better quantify how much CO2 this technique could sequester in the deep sea and what impacts it might have on marine ecosystems. They hope to start trials across as much as 10,000 square kilometers of the northeastern Pacific Ocean as soon as 2026, says consortium member Ken Buesseler of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the world will likely need to remove billions of metric tons of atmospheric CO2 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), and Buesseler says that fertilization could be “one of those pieces in that puzzle.” The ocean already contains much more carbon than Earth’s plants, crops and soils, he says, and it has the capacity to hold far more. Spreading iron, he adds, can “speed up” the natural biological carbon pump by promoting greater phytoplankton growth.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.During photosynthesis, phytoplankton consume CO2, sunlight and nutrients, including iron. But in many parts of the ocean, this element is rare. If some is delivered to these areas by windblown dust or volcanic ash—or by a ship deliberately pumping out an iron sulfate solution—a vast number of the microscopic organisms can quickly grow and multiply. When these creatures die or are eaten and excreted by larger ones, some of the carbon that they took up sinks to deep, slow-moving waters as “marine snow,” keeping the carbon out of the atmosphere for decades or centuries.ExOIS is trying to raise $160 million for the entire program. As a start, the scientists have received a $2-million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for computer modeling, and they are in talks with potential donors such as the Ocean Resilience and Climate Alliance, a philanthropic coalition funded by billionaire Michael Bloomberg and others.ExOIS plans to apply to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for permission to conduct trials under the London Protocol, which in 2013 set an international ban on ocean iron fertilization for commercial purposes. The convention allows fertilization for research if it is monitored and doesn’t harm the environment.Buesseler and others added iron to the ocean during a dozen experiments in the 1990s and 2000s. But a public backlash against tinkering with natural Earth systems arose in 2012, after American entrepreneur Russ George notoriously dumped 100 metric tons of iron dust off the coast of Canada, partly to bolster salmon fishing.ExOIS promises detailed monitoring of the effects of its field studies, as well as improved computer modeling of the implications. The scientists will add a nonreactive tracer such as sulfur hexafluoride to the iron sulfate solution, a step that will help track the spread of the fertilized water as the iron sulfate slowly breaks down. They will measure CO2 concentrations using ships, floats and underwater drones. And they will check satellite images that can register increases in phytoplankton color at the ocean’s surface. The group is also promising more public engagement and consideration for environmental impacts than were involved in previous iron-spreading projects.Effects could be varied and wide-ranging. In a 2009 experiment in the southwest Atlantic Ocean by German and Indian scientists, larger zooplankton ate the smaller phytoplankton—and little carbon actually reached the deep sea. In an experiment that was conducted in 2006 in the northeastern Pacific by researchers in the U.S. and Canada, toxic phytoplankton species flourished. This has raised fears that fertilization could create “dead zones” where rampant algal blooms would consume all the oxygen in the water, snuffing out other life. Phytoplankton blooms could also consume nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen that then wouldn’t be available for organisms elsewhere, a phenomenon known as “nutrient robbing.” In addition, scientists still know little about the deep-ocean ecosystems where the carbon is supposed to be stored. “Most likely [iron fertilization] will affect something that we don’t really understand yet,” says deep-sea expert Lisa Levin of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who is not involved in the ExOIS program.Last year a computer modeling study done by British, American and French researchers found that adding one million to two million metric tons of iron into the ocean each year could draw down 45 billion metric tons of carbon by 2100. It would also rob nutrients from other sea life, however. Along with an estimated 15 percent reduction in marine biomass caused by warming, another 5 percent could be lost because of iron fertilization, particularly in fishing areas near the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian coasts. “I haven’t really seen [ExOIS] present a hypothesis of what’s wrong with previous work ... that either makes the carbon yield higher or minimizes the negative consequences,” says Alessandro Tagliabue of the University of Liverpool in England, co-lead author of that study.Buesseler argues that some difficult trade-offs such as this may be necessary. “It’s a small change in biology, relative to doing nothing and watching this planet boil,” he says.

A research consortium plans to revive geoengineering trials of the controversial iron fertilization technique to pull carbon dioxide from the air, despite public backlash

September 12, 2024

4 min read

Scientists Will Engineer the Ocean to Absorb More Carbon Dioxide

A research consortium plans to revive geoengineering trials of the controversial iron fertilization technique to pull carbon dioxide from the air, despite public backlash

By Alec Luhn

Satellite composite image of the California coast and Pacific Ocean with varying colors of blues and greens where there are phytoplankton blooms. The curve of the Earth can be seen at the top of the image

This February 8, 2016 composite image reveals the complex distribution of phytoplankton in one of Earth's eastern boundary upwelling systems — the California Current.

NASA/Goddard/Suomin-NPP/VIIRS

Scientists plan to seed part of the Pacific Ocean with iron to trigger a surface bloom of phytoplankton that will hopefully suck carbon dioxide out of the air, reviving field trials of a geoengineering technique that has been taboo for more than a decade.

On Sept. 9, 23 academics from Exploring Ocean Iron Solutions (ExOIS), a not-for-profit, non-commercial consortium, laid out a program in Frontiers in Climate to assess iron fertilization. The researchers want to better quantify how much CO2 this technique could sequester in the deep sea and what impacts it might have on marine ecosystems. They hope to start trials across as much as 10,000 square kilometers of the northeastern Pacific Ocean as soon as 2026, says consortium member Ken Buesseler of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the world will likely need to remove billions of metric tons of atmospheric CO2 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), and Buesseler says that fertilization could be “one of those pieces in that puzzle.” The ocean already contains much more carbon than Earth’s plants, crops and soils, he says, and it has the capacity to hold far more. Spreading iron, he adds, can “speed up” the natural biological carbon pump by promoting greater phytoplankton growth.

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

During photosynthesis, phytoplankton consume CO2, sunlight and nutrients, including iron. But in many parts of the ocean, this element is rare. If some is delivered to these areas by windblown dust or volcanic ash—or by a ship deliberately pumping out an iron sulfate solution—a vast number of the microscopic organisms can quickly grow and multiply. When these creatures die or are eaten and excreted by larger ones, some of the carbon that they took up sinks to deep, slow-moving waters as “marine snow,” keeping the carbon out of the atmosphere for decades or centuries.

ExOIS is trying to raise $160 million for the entire program. As a start, the scientists have received a $2-million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for computer modeling, and they are in talks with potential donors such as the Ocean Resilience and Climate Alliance, a philanthropic coalition funded by billionaire Michael Bloomberg and others.

ExOIS plans to apply to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for permission to conduct trials under the London Protocol, which in 2013 set an international ban on ocean iron fertilization for commercial purposes. The convention allows fertilization for research if it is monitored and doesn’t harm the environment.

Buesseler and others added iron to the ocean during a dozen experiments in the 1990s and 2000s. But a public backlash against tinkering with natural Earth systems arose in 2012, after American entrepreneur Russ George notoriously dumped 100 metric tons of iron dust off the coast of Canada, partly to bolster salmon fishing.

ExOIS promises detailed monitoring of the effects of its field studies, as well as improved computer modeling of the implications. The scientists will add a nonreactive tracer such as sulfur hexafluoride to the iron sulfate solution, a step that will help track the spread of the fertilized water as the iron sulfate slowly breaks down. They will measure CO2 concentrations using ships, floats and underwater drones. And they will check satellite images that can register increases in phytoplankton color at the ocean’s surface. The group is also promising more public engagement and consideration for environmental impacts than were involved in previous iron-spreading projects.

Effects could be varied and wide-ranging. In a 2009 experiment in the southwest Atlantic Ocean by German and Indian scientists, larger zooplankton ate the smaller phytoplankton—and little carbon actually reached the deep sea. In an experiment that was conducted in 2006 in the northeastern Pacific by researchers in the U.S. and Canada, toxic phytoplankton species flourished. This has raised fears that fertilization could create “dead zones” where rampant algal blooms would consume all the oxygen in the water, snuffing out other life. Phytoplankton blooms could also consume nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen that then wouldn’t be available for organisms elsewhere, a phenomenon known as “nutrient robbing.” In addition, scientists still know little about the deep-ocean ecosystems where the carbon is supposed to be stored. “Most likely [iron fertilization] will affect something that we don’t really understand yet,” says deep-sea expert Lisa Levin of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who is not involved in the ExOIS program.

Last year a computer modeling study done by British, American and French researchers found that adding one million to two million metric tons of iron into the ocean each year could draw down 45 billion metric tons of carbon by 2100. It would also rob nutrients from other sea life, however. Along with an estimated 15 percent reduction in marine biomass caused by warming, another 5 percent could be lost because of iron fertilization, particularly in fishing areas near the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian coasts. “I haven’t really seen [ExOIS] present a hypothesis of what’s wrong with previous work ... that either makes the carbon yield higher or minimizes the negative consequences,” says Alessandro Tagliabue of the University of Liverpool in England, co-lead author of that study.

Buesseler argues that some difficult trade-offs such as this may be necessary. “It’s a small change in biology, relative to doing nothing and watching this planet boil,” he says.

Read the full story here.
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CO2 emissions from new North Sea drilling sites would match 30 years’ worth from UK households

New research comes as dozens of small potential fields have received some form of license from the governmentPotential new North Sea oil and gas fields with early stage licences from the UK would emit as much carbon dioxide as British households produce in three decades.The finding has led to calls to the government to reject demands from fossil fuel producers for the final permits needed to allow their operations to go ahead. Continue reading...

Potential new North Sea oil and gas fields with early stage licences from the UK would emit as much carbon dioxide as British households produce in three decades.The finding has led to calls to the government to reject demands from fossil fuel producers for the final permits needed to allow their operations to go ahead.Dozens of small potential sites, and several controversial large projects such as the Jackdaw and Rosebank fields, have received some form of licence, though they are not yet operational.If they all went aheadthe resulting emissions would have a global impact on the ability to stave off catastrophic levels of climate change, according to research by the campaigning group Uplift.Sites that have been licensed for drilling but have not yet been developed are estimated to hold up to 3.8bn barrels of oil equivalent. If burned, this would release 1.5bn tonnes of carbon dioxide. Emissions from the UK’s 28m households amount to about 50m tonnes a year.Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, said: “The scale of the planned drilling by fossil fuel companies in the North Sea is alarming. How can it be right that, while we strive to reduce our climate impact – and household emissions fall from people installing solar panels and switching to heat pumps – the oil and gas industry is given a free pass to generate massive emissions?”The government has pledged not to issue any new licenses to oil and gas fields, but has stopped short of rescinding licences currently in the pipeline. 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There is compelling evidence that the emissions from new North Sea drilling are incompatible with these limits,” she said.The ban on new licences – which applies to potential fields that have not yet received any form of permit – should prevent about 4bn barrels of oil being produced. The government will consult next year on how to implement this ban.Labour faces stiff challenges, however, from the oil and gas industry, and from oil and gas workers and the unions which represent them.Mark Wilson, operations director for Offshore Energies UK, which represents the oil and gas industry, said: “UK oil and gas demand is forecast to outstrip domestic production, even if these resources are brought to market. Limiting the production and therefore the supply of UK oil and gas within a mature and declining basin like the North Sea is not an effective way to address the challenge of delivering a net zero energy future.“Preventing the development of existing reserves and resources won’t fix the climate challenge, but it will threaten UK jobs, communities and income and negatively impact the livelihoods of the skilled people whose expertise we need to deliver the UK’s net zero goals.”Uplift’s Khan said the government must provide a “just transition” for workers, but pointed out that the future of the North Sea would be one of steep decline, even if resources were poured into extraction.“New drilling is not the answer for the UK’s energy workers. 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TikTok’s annual carbon footprint is likely bigger than Greece’s, study finds

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Regulators Approve North Dakota Section of Planned 5-State Midwest Carbon Dioxide Pipeline

Utility regulators in North Dakota have approved a carbon dioxide pipeline that would span five Midwestern states

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota utility regulators granted approval on Friday for a span of a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would cross five Midwestern states — a key victory for the company that has faced vociferous landowner objections and various hurdles and setbacks in its plans.The state Public Service Commission voted unanimously to approve a siting permit for Summit Carbon Solutions' modified, 333-mile route in North Dakota. The company's proposed $8 billion, 2,500-mile pipeline system would carry tons of planet-warming CO2 emissions from 57 ethanol plants in five states for storage deep underground in North Dakota.No construction has begun anywhere on Summit’s proposed route. Iowa has approved the project, but other hurdles remain in North Dakota as well as South Dakota, Minnesota and Nebraska.The approval is a win for the company after North Dakota initially denied a permit in 2023, shortly followed by rejection in South Dakota. Another company, Navigator CO2 Ventures, canceled its project around the same time due to the “unpredictable nature of the regulatory and government processes involved, particularly in South Dakota and Iowa."North Dakota Public Service Commission Chairman Randy Christmann urged Summit not to use eminent domain, “at least not more than absolutely necessary.” Eminent domain is not in the panel's jurisdiction or a part of the siting process, he said.Summit CEO Lee Blank told reporters the company is pleased with the panel's decision. He said Summit has worked with landowners on a voluntary basis and will continue to do so.“Our goal is, again, to acquire as much right of way possible as we can voluntarily, and ultimately at the end of the day, we hope to do 100% of that,” Blank said.Summit said Friday it has acquired easements for over 82% of its North Dakota route.Republican state Sen. Jeff Magrum, an opponent whose district the pipeline would cross, said he’d rather see investments in roads, bridges and dams instead of “Green New Deal projects that don’t create any benefit for our state or our country.” He expects the panel’s decision to be challenged.Carbon-capture skeptics say the technology is untested at scale and allows the fossil-fuel industry to continue largely unchanged.In August, the Iowa Utilities Commission issued Summit a hazardous liquid pipeline permit after approving the company's application in June. The panel also granted Summit the right of eminent domain over numerous parcels of land.But the company cannot start construction in Iowa until it has route approvals from both Dakotas and approval for underground storage in North Dakota, among other requirements. The Iowa panel's decision sparked lawsuits in opposition.Christmann said the permit has no restrictions based on what any other states do.The North Dakota panel had denied Summit a siting permit in August 2023. The regulators said Summit hadn't sufficiently addressed several issues, including geologic instability, wildlife areas, cultural resource impacts and some landowner concerns.Soon afterward, the panel agreed to reconsider, beginning more than a year of meetings and document filings.Summit submitted three storage facility permit applications to North Dakota’s Department of Mineral Resources, but no decision has been made.In 2022, Minnkota Power Cooperative and Summit agreed to collaborate on developing CO2 storage in central North Dakota, a pact that also lets Summit use Minnkota's previously permitted 100-million-ton underground storage.In September 2023, South Dakota's Public Utilities Commission denied Summit's permit application after commission staff said the route would violate county ordinances for setback distances. Summit has said it plans to reapply this month for a permit.In a referendum earlier this month, South Dakota voters rejected a suite of regulations that opponents said would deny local control over such projects and consolidate authority with state regulators. Supporters had promoted it as a “landowner bill of rights.” The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is expected to decide Dec. 12 whether to approve a 28-mile segment of pipeline that would connect an ethanol plant near Fergus Falls to Summit’s network in North Dakota. An administrative law judge recommended that the commissioners find that the environmental review for the Minnesota section met the legal requirements, and issue a route permit to Summit. Critics had expressed concerns to the judge about the impacts on farms and water resources, and suggested there were better ways to reduce CO2 emissions. They also argued that the environmental review should have been expanded to look at the impacts of the broader proposed Midwest Carbon Express pipeline network, with which Summit would connect.In Nebraska, where there is no state regulatory process for CO2 pipelines, Summit is working with individual counties to advance its project. At least one county has denied a permit.AP reporter Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis contributed to this story.Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Sept. 2024

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The Largest Carbon Capture Project in the U.S. Could Be in West Texas. Do Residents Want It?

West Texans will have their say this week regarding a proposed carbon dioxide injection site when the Environmental Protection Agency holds a series of public meetings in Ector County

ODESSA, Texas (AP) — West Texans will have their say this week regarding a proposed carbon dioxide injection site when the Environmental Protection Agency holds a series of public meetings in Ector County.The proposed project — which has been under review for the last two years — would be the largest of its kind in the United States. Occidental Petroleum Corporation, or Oxy, an oil and gas company based in Houston, wants federal approval to capture and store an estimated 722,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide in three injection wells 4,400 feet underground.“We know that achieving global net zero by 2050 requires technological solutions that can quickly reduce emissions on a large-scale,” William Fitzgerald, a spokesperson for Oxy, said in a statement. Oxy “has been safely and securely storing CO2 underground for more than 50 years.”Known as Stratos, the facility would be located 20 miles southwest of Odessa. Oxy previously broke ground last year. Public testimony begins Wednesday with an information session at 7 p.m. and ends Oct. 7. The agency can take up to 90 days to issue a final decision, including changes to the proposal.If approved, Oxy would receive what’s known as Class VI permits, the first of their kind in Texas and the surrounding region that includes New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and 66 Tribal Nations.Certain sectors of the energy industry have embraced carbon capture and storage to propel the nation toward its climate goals. For its part, the federal government has put up about $12 billion for eligible projects under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.Climate advocates argue that the evidence about the advantages of decarbonization is insufficient and that it falls short of offsetting the greenhouse gases emitted by removing them from the atmosphere.Companies are pursuing projects anyway. Multiple plans to capture and store carbon dioxide are underway in Texas, including a natural gas power plant in Baytown owned by Calpine Texas CCUS Holdings, which was eligible for up to $270 million in federal dollars. A second San Antonio-based gas company, Howard Energy Partners, was awarded $3 million in federal money to “evaluate the technical and economic feasibility” of transporting 250 million tons of carbon dioxide from the Gulf Coast. Another project in southeast Texas, owned in part by Chevron, spans almost 100,000 acres.None, however, are close to the amount of carbon dioxide Oxy hopes to capture, inject and store underground.Oxy is one of the top oil and gas producers in the Permian Basin. With roughly 2.8 million acres between Texas and New Mexico and the biggest direct air capture facility in its portfolio, the company has become a household name in the Texas oil and gas industry. The proposed injection sites will create 120 jobs, Oxy said in a statement.Oxy said the Stratos project will provide more jobs, workforce training programs, educational opportunities and economic development in the region, but did not provide specifics. Earlier reports said the site will cost about $1 billion to construct.While it is unclear whether this project qualified for federal incentives, 1PointFive, the company’s subsidiary dedicated to carbon capture, in September received $500 million for a direct air capture plant in South Texas.Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of oil and gas production. When a fossil fuel company burns coal, crude oil, or natural gas, it emits carbon dioxide. The greenhouse gas traps heat and prevents the atmosphere from cooling.Oxy intends to capture and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and put it underground. Federal regulators determined that the energy firm met every requirement under the Safe Drinking Water Act and accounted for the protection of groundwater. Their review also concluded that the risk of seismicity due to the injections was minimal.And if necessary, the permit “also puts requirements in place in the event of potential groundwater contamination and/or seismic activity, including shutting down injection operations,” an agency spokesperson said.Oxy will capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through direct air capture, or DAC. The technology separates the gas from other particles in the air and then raises the temperature to incinerate them, leaving only the carbon dioxide. The equipment compresses the remaining gas by raising the pressure until it is the consistency of a brine that is transported and stored permanently in pockets of rock underground.According to the proposal, Oxy will monitor the pressure and temperature of the proposed sites on the surface of the well and downhole. Temperature and pressure gauges will be measured every second on the surface and every ten seconds in the well, providing a reading every ten minutes. A change in pressure could indicate a problem.The proposal stated that operators would monitor corrosion in the well four times a year or every three months. Similarly, the groundwater will be monitored every three months unless the regulators ask for additional testing. After three years, groundwater monitoring will occur once annually. The company must alert the EPA 30 days before most tests or if there are any changes. It must also alert them of any malfunctions within 24 hours.The oil and gas industry introduced carbon capture and sequestration to remediate excess greenhouse gas emissions from its operations since the 1970s. These emissions harm human health and deteriorate the atmosphere, and scientists agree they spur climate change. Industry leaders say it will help the country meet its climate goals and cool global temperatures.The benefits of carbon capture and storage have been fiercely debated for as long as the technology has existed. Climate advocates and scientists have been skeptical. They say no project has worked fast enough to offset the greenhouse gas emissions from major emitters.A handful of proposals in Louisiana were subject to backlash from the community, which expressed concerns over contamination.Commission Shift, a Texas-based watchdog group, said carbon capture and storage threaten groundwater sources. In a statement, the organization said the EPA should refrain from approving the project until the state resolves other lingering issues with saltwater injections, another underground disposal technique contributing to earthquakes in West Texas.“Outside of the ineffectiveness and inefficiency of (carbon caputure) as a climate mitigation solution, the injection and sequestration of carbon dioxide is dangerous to the land, water, communities, and ecosystems nearby,” Paige Powell, senior policy manager for Commission Shift, said in a statement on Friday.Ramanan Krishnamoorti, senior vice president of energy at The University of Houston, said neither the public nor the industry should consider carbon capture a permanent solution. He said that residents should pay particular attention to the precautions that Oxy and the EPA will take in case of a leak or contamination.“We need not build up our hopes that this is the be-all, end-all solution, but the solution that has a time and place,” said Krishnamoorti, an advocate of carbon capture and sequestration technology. “Let’s use it as appropriate, but with very clear eyes that we understand what the hazards are, what the risks are, and how do we make sure that we lessen the risk to the maximum extent possible, and yet be able to do it reasonably.”This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Sept. 2024

CO2
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