An Examination of the Biological Impacts of Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement in Halifax Bay via Biogeochemical Observations

The increasing severity of climate change and glacial pace of emissions reform is requiring the development of new strategies for atmospheric CO2 drawdown. One of the approaches that has been gaining traction is Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE), a method that increases the physical absorption of atmospheric CO2 into the ocean by dispersing alkaline materials in the ocean. The urgency of the climate crisis requires immediate action to understand how OAE can be best implemented to avoid negative biological consequences. To help remediate this uncertainty, this project will merge the expertise of the LaRoche Lab with the instrumentation of the Cassar Lab. In the past two years, large scale alkalinity release has been underway in Halifax Bay (just miles from Dalhousie University). During the visit, Niva will spend one week using a novel instrument to continuously monitor how the ecosystem metabolic rates differ according to proximity to the alkalinity release point in the bay. This will allow quantification of how the ratio of photosynthesis to respiration (an indicator of community fitness) varies according to the intensity of the alkalinity perturbation. The remainder of the visit will be spent in the lab working on short-term cell culture incubations quantifying alkalinity sensitivity.

Faculty Supervisor:

Julie Laroche

Student:

Partner:

Duke University

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Education

University:

Dalhousie University

Program: