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Quantifying Regional Efficiency of Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR) via Alkalinity Enhancement using the ECCO-Darwin Ocean Biogeochemistry State Estimate and an Idealized Vertical 1-D Model
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  • Kay Suselj,
  • Dustin Carroll,
  • Dimitris Menemenlis,
  • Hong Zhang,
  • Nate Beatty,
  • Anna Savage,
  • Daniel Bridger Whitt
Kay Suselj
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Dustin Carroll
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
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Dimitris Menemenlis
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
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Hong Zhang
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
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Nate Beatty
Running Tide Tech.
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Anna Savage
Running Tide Tech.
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Daniel Bridger Whitt
NASA Ames Research Center
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Abstract

As a marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR) approach, Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) is emerging as a viable method for removing anthropogenic CO2 emissions from the atmosphere to mitigate climate change. To achieve substantial carbon reduction using this method, OAE would need to be widespread and scaled-up across the global ocean. However, the efficiency of OAE varies substantially across a range of space-time scales and as such field deployments must be carefully planned to maximize efficiency and minimize logistical costs and risks. Here we develop a mCDR efficiency framework based on the data-assimilative ECCO-Darwin ocean biogeochemistry model, which examines two key factors over seasonal to multi-decadal timescales: 1) mCDR potential, which quantifies the CO2 solubility of the upper ocean; and 2) dynamical mCDR efficiency, representing the full-depth impact of ocean advection, mixing, and air-sea CO2 exchange. To isolate and quantify the factors that determine dynamical efficiency, we develop a reduced complexity 1-D model, rapid-mCDR, as a computationally-efficient tool for evaluation of mCDR efficiency. Combining the rapid-mCDR model with ECCO-Darwin allows for rapid characterization of OAE efficiency at any location globally. This research contributes to our understanding and optimization of OAE deployments (i.e., deploying experiments in the real-world ocean) as an effective mCDR strategy and elucidates the regional differences and mechanistic processes that impact mCDR efficiency. The modeling tools developed in this study can be readily employed by research teams and industry to plan and complement future field deployments and provide essential Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV).
01 Mar 2024Submitted to ESS Open Archive
04 Mar 2024Published in ESS Open Archive