Next steps for assessing ocean iron fertilization for marine carbon dioxide removal

There are many potential approaches to marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR), of which ocean iron fertilization (OIF) has the longest history of study. However, OIF studies to date were not primarily designed to quantify the durability of carbon (C) storage, nor how wise OIF might be as an mCDR approach. To quantify C sequestration, we introduce a metric called the “centennial tonne,” defined as 1,000 kg of C isolated from atmospheric contact for on average at least 100 years. We present the activities needed to assess OIF from a scientific and technological perspective, and additionally, how it might be responsibly studied and potentially deployed. The five activities include: field studies in the Northeast Pacific; improved modeling for field studies, data assimilation and predictions at larger scales; improvements in monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) for C, and also MRV for tracking ecological and environmental impacts; and developing new iron sources and their delivery, to increase efficiencies and reduce costs. The fifth activity is to understand whether public and community support exists for OIF, and what governance structures might support further research and possible deployment of OIF. This article is written by a multidisciplinary experts group called Exploring Ocean Iron Solutions (ExOIS) that is organized around a responsible code of conduct. Of the mCDR approaches, OIF has the potential to be low cost, scalable, and rapidly deployable. Reducing CO 2 emissions must lead the way, but there is also an urgency to decide under what conditions and whether OIF might be deployed or not.

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Publication Details

Journal
Frontiers in Climate
Published
2024-09-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2024.1430957
Citations
9
Primary Topic
Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.54

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article

Next steps for assessing ocean iron fertilization for marine carbon dioxide removal

Angelicque White, Kilaparti Ramakrishna, Daniele Bianchi, Jay T. Cullen et al.
9 citations
Frontiers in Climate
Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics
2.54
article

Next steps for assessing ocean iron fertilization for marine carbon dioxide removal

Angelicque White, Kilaparti Ramakrishna, Daniele Bianchi, Jay T. Cullen, Ken O. Buesseler, David A. Siegel, Margaret Estapa, Dennis J. McGillicuddy, Jun Nishioka, Nicholas J. Hawco, Anh L. D. Pham, Kendra A. Turk‐Kubo, Sara Nawaz, Deborah Lynn Steinberg, Peng Xiu, Seth G. John, Benjamin S. Twining, Sarah R. Smith, Joo‐Eun Yoon, Mark L. Wells, Paul J. Morris, Romany Webb, F. Chai
article en
9 citations

Abstract

There are many potential approaches to marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR), of which ocean iron fertilization (OIF) has the longest history of study. However, OIF studies to date were not primarily designed to quantify the durability of carbon (C) storage, nor how wise OIF might be as an mCDR approach. To quantify C sequestration, we introduce a metric called the “centennial tonne,” defined as 1,000 kg of C isolated from atmospheric contact for on average at least 100 years. We present the activities needed to assess OIF from a scientific and technological perspective, and additionally, how it might be responsibly studied and potentially deployed. The five activities include: field studies in the Northeast Pacific; improved modeling for field studies, data assimilation and predictions at larger scales; improvements in monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) for C, and also MRV for tracking ecological and environmental impacts; and developing new iron sources and their delivery, to increase efficiencies and reduce costs. The fifth activity is to understand whether public and community support exists for OIF, and what governance structures might support further research and possible deployment of OIF. This article is written by a multidisciplinary experts group called Exploring Ocean Iron Solutions (ExOIS) that is organized around a responsible code of conduct. Of the mCDR approaches, OIF has the potential to be low cost, scalable, and rapidly deployable. Reducing CO 2 emissions must lead the way, but there is also an urgency to decide under what conditions and whether OIF might be deployed or not.

Frontiers in ClimateVol. 6
University of Southern California (US), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US), Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (US), University of California, Santa Barbara (US), University of California, Los Angeles (US), University of California, Santa Cruz (US), Xiamen University (CN), Hokkaido University (JP), University of Victoria (CA), Columbia University Irving Medical Center (US), Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences (US), Korea Polar Research Institute (KR), University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant (US), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (US), University of Maine (US), Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (US)
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, San Francisco State University, North Carolina State University, University of Montana, Oregon State University, San José State University, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Openalex Percentile: Top 11%
Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics
2.54
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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