FALMOUTH – A group of over 200 scientists from throughout the world recently penned an open letter on Ocean CDR Science calling on the international community to intensify and advance the research and development of ocean-based carbon dioxide removal methods currently in their infancy.
The letter alludes that as the world’s largest exchangeable carbon reservoir, the ocean has borne the brunt of destabilizing changes associated with rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere caused primarily by the production and use of fossil fuels.
Despite the disproportionate strain put on the world’s oceans by the climate crisis, the letter suggested that the world’s oceans contain enormous potential to help fix the issues.
The scientists urge that an equitable, transparent, pan-national collaboration is needed as quickly as possible to determine both the risks and benefits of oceanic carbon dioxide removal approaches, such as ecosystem restoration and ocean alkalinity enhancement, at scale.
The letter cited a report by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which states that large-scale carbon dioxide removal is needed this century to stay below the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming threshold put forward in the Paris Climate Accord, to highlight the urgency of the matter.
Dr. Wokil Bam, Dr. Tom Bell, Dr. Heather Benway, Dr. Ken Buesseler, Dr. Julie Huber, Dr. Heather Kim, Dr. Dennis McGillicuddy, Dr. Peter de Menocal, Dr. David Nicholson, Dr. Kilaparti Ramakrishna, Dr. Raymond W. Schmitt, Dr. Adam V. Subbhas, Dr. Ichiko Sugiyama, Dr. Zhaohui Aleck Wang, and Dr. Susan E Wijffels of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution were included among those signing the letter.
To read the full letter, click here.
By, Matthew Tomlinson, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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