GPU-based, multiscale, high-resolution numerical simulations of Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement interventions

Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) consists of reducing the acidity of ocean water, allowing it to absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere without making it more acidic. By taking CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it in the ocean, OAE could reduce the effect of human greenhouse gas emissions on climate change. However, measuring how much CO2 is removed by OAE interventions in the ocean remains a challenge, as the transfer of CO2 from the atmosphere to the ocean takes weeks to months, and takes place in the open ocean, where currents, waves, and eddies mix and dilute the signal. This means that placing sensors in the ocean is not enough to measure the CO2 removal, and numerical models are needed. Such models have been used in academic research for decades and can fill the gaps when sensors cannot. However, these numerical models are too slow and have too poor a resolution to measure CO2 removal from OAE interventions, and they are too expensive to use in commercial operations.

In this project, we use a new generation of high-efficiency and high-performance ocean simulation codes developed at MIT and University of Cambridge, to create a model of an OAE intervention in the Bedford Basin, Canada, that achieves unprecedented spatial resolution yet remains computationally affordable. By integrating this model with data from ocean sensors deployed in Bedford Basin, we hope to establish a new standard for the assessment of OAE intervention, and demonstrate the operational capabilities of modern ocean model codes.

Faculty Supervisor:

Ruth Musgrave

Student:

Partner:

atdepth MRV

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Dalhousie University

Program: