PLEASE NOTE: Application deadline date 08 Jan 2024. Applications are no longer being accepted for this project
Project Overview
The long-term fate of carbon sequestered by the natural biological pump and by proposed marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) schemes is a major knowledge gap. This model-based project will examine how ocean carbon storage may respond to climate change and to evaluate the efficiency of different mCDR approaches.
Project Description
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that global warming will not stay below 1.5°C without intervention from CDR approaches which has created an urgent need to increase our understanding of ocean carbon sequestration. This is crucial both because climate change will influence the natural carbon cycle (specifically the biological pump2), and mCDR schemes are gaining momentum3. mCDR schemes are currently being evaluated to determine their efficacy, potential co-benefits and side-effects, with ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) and biomass sinking receiving the most attention3.
The efficacy of both natural and engineered carbon sequestration processes depends on poorly understood interactions between biogeochemical processes and ocean ventilation dynamics. To shed light on this issue, this project could address the following questions:
- What is the fate of carbon sequestered by the biological pump under future climate changes?
- What is the long-term carbon storage efficiency of geoengineered biomass sinking of macroalgae, and potential impacts and unintended consequences?
- What is the carbon sequestration efficiency of OAE and how significant are downstream impacts?
To tackle these, this project will use state-of-the-art modelling approaches, including Lagrangian particle-tracking, to simulate natural and engineered ocean carbon sequestration1. Simulations will investigate circulation pathways for carbon within the ocean, allowing the timescale and efficiency of its storage to be quantified, as well as the dispersal of its downstream impacts. The influence of changes in carbon sequestration efficiency for key regions, such as the North Atlantic or the Southern Ocean, could be examined.
The INSPIRE DTP programme provides comprehensive personal and professional development training alongside extensive opportunities for students to expand their multi-disciplinary outlook through interactions with a wide network of academic, research and industrial/policy partners. The student will be registered at the University of Southampton and hosted at the National Oceanography Centre. Specific training will include:
The student will be supported to develop their Python computer programming skills, running oceanparcels, an existing Lagrangian particle tracking simulator, analysing large model datasets including global output from the NEMO-MEDUSA global ocean biogeochemical model developed at NOC. The student will also develop a broad understanding of the ocean carbon cycle and mCDR approaches. Other wider opportunities can be explored depending on a students’ interests, such as participating in a research cruise or in science communication and outreach.
The student will be encouraged to present their work at national and international conferences, to attend summer schools and workshops, and to network with the wider academic community. The student will develop a broad skillset in emerging research areas highly relevant to ocean stakeholders, policy makers and industry and there will be opportunities to undertake a research placement at an international institution and/or a policy placement within the UK.
1 Baker, C. A., Martin, A. P., Yool, A., & Popova, E. (2022). Biological carbon pump sequestration efficiency in the North Atlantic: A leaky or a long-term sink? Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 36, e2021GB007286. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GB007286
2 Henson SA, Laufkötter C, Leung S, Giering SL, Palevsky HI, Cavan EL. (2022). Uncertain response of ocean biological carbon export in a changing world. Nature Geoscience 15:248–54 10.1038/s41561-022-00927-0
3 NASEM. 2021. Summary - A research strategy for ocean-based carbon dioxide removal and sequestration. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Washington, DC. doi:10.17226/26278. [free to download as guest – only summary needed]
