A study by a Taiwan-based researcher has found that artificially alkalinized seawater can absorb more carbon dioxide, helping mitigate the greenhouse effect.
Lui Hon-kit (雷漢杰), an associate professor in the Department of Oceanography at National Sun Yat-sen University, conducted a time-series analysis using 26 years of data from the South China Sea and led the world’s first study demonstrating the feasibility of ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE), the university said Thursday.
OAE is a geoengineering technique designed to enhance seawater’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide. Boosting alkalinity, it helps counteract ocean acidification caused by human-generated carbon dioxide, with a focus on approaches that keep the carbon footprint low.
Photo courtesy of the National Sun Yat-sen University
About one-quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions (26 percent) is absorbed by the ocean through air-sea carbon dioxide exchange, Lui wrote.
Citing data collected from seawater within 10m of the surface between 1999 and last year at the South-East Asia Time-series Study (SEATS) station, Lui said total alkalinity increased annually by 0.56 micromoles per kilogram.
As a result, seawater in the area absorbs 28 percent more carbon dioxide than would be expected from carbon dioxide equilibrium with the atmosphere. This helps recover some of the losses in pH and calcium carbonate saturation lost due to acidification, he said.
OAE research is still in its early stages, and the long-term effects of the technique on ocean carbonate chemistry had not been explored before his study, Lui said.
"The SEATS case provides a regional perspective that supports the global understanding of long-term seawater alkalinization," he said.
Liu’s paper has been published in Geophysical Research Letters and is available for download.
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