Project News & Updates
What is Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE)?
Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) is a carbon dioxide removal approach that enhances the ocean's natural ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere, which is a critical part of Earth's carbon cycle and a moderating influence on climate change.
Why are we doing this study?
Can ocean alkalinity enhancement help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?
The LOC-NESS project (short for Locking Ocean Carbon in the Northeast Shelf and Slope) is a research effort that addresses the need identified by the US Federal Government and the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to rapidly advance research into marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR) approaches, such as ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE), a potential type of mCDR that de-acidifies sea water while storing carbon away from the atmosphere. As a supplement to emissions reductions, OAE may help to reduce the impacts of climate change on the environment and society. Through a voluntary carbon market, startup companies are already selling carbon credits via OAE. Highly monitored, carefully designed research projects such as LOC-NESS are critical to providing scientific assessments of the potential risks and benefits of these new and rapidly developing climate solutions.
What are we doing?
This research project is carefully designed to answer essential questions about the effectiveness and environmental impacts of OAE. This project is not a pathway to, or an endorsement for, OAE. Our project goals are to:
- Evaluate how regional ocean conditions and human activities would interact with OAE.
- Conduct realistic laboratory experiments that assess the biological impacts and the engineered safety of OAE.
- Design and conduct a small scale, highly monitored field trial of alkalinity enhancement.
- Use an ocean model to expand upon the field trial data
- Engage with communities who care about the impact of OAE on our regional waters
Who are we?
We are an interdisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and communicators who are committed to a transparent, rigorous, scientific evaluation of ocean alkalinity enhancement.
This research project is not a pathway to, or an endorsement for, pursuing OAE as a large-scale carbon dioxide removal strategy.