Sea change: Can we alter the chemistry of the ocean to save the climate?

Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World

Scientists are finding that ocean alkalinity enhancement is one of the more promising solutions for permanently storing carbon from the atmosphere. And not only could this emerging technology help with the climate crisis, it could also address another key problem: acidity in the ocean, which is endangering ecosystems. In this premiere episode of the second season of Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World, host Manjula Selvarajah explores how this technology could help and what still needs to be figured out.

Featured in this episode:

• Claudia Benitez-Nelson is an oceanographer who teaches at the University of South Carolina’s School of Earth, Oceans and Environment. Her research focuses on the ocean’s role in sequestration of greenhouse gasses, and the processes that shape the movement of materials from the ocean’s surface to its depths.
• Will Burt is the chief ocean scientist at Planetary Technologies. As a biogeochemist and oceanographer by training, he devises strategies on how we can measure and add alkalinity to the ocean.
• Eddie Halfyard is the co-founder and chief technology officer at Carbon Run. He’s also a research scientist with the Nova Scotia Salmon Association, pursuing freshwater alkalinity enhancement to restore salmon habitats.
• Sara Nawaz is a social scientist who studies the public perception of ocean-based negative emissions technology. She’s also the director of research at the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy at American University, and is affiliated with UBC and Oxford University.
• Matthew Long, oceanographer at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, serves both as co-founder and Executive Director of [C]Worthy. He and his team are developing the tools required for safe and effective ocean-based carbon removal.

Further Reading:

• Using new research techniques scientists find Atlantic salmon are still returning to many Nova Scotia rivers
• Halifax scientists have a plan to capture carbon from the atmosphere using mining materials
• Does ocean acidification alter fish behavior? Fraud allegations create a sea of doubt
• Warning on Mass Extinction of Sea Life: 'An Oh My God Moment'
• Take Care Before Enlisting the Oceans in the Climate Fight

MaRS works closely with ventures to help them scale their innovations. It created the Mission from MaRS initiative to help speed up the adoption of climate solutions. Mission from MaRS thanks its partners, HSBC Bank Canada, Grantham Foundation, RBC Tech for Nature and Peter Gilgan Foundation. Learn more about the program at missionfrommars.ca.

Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.