{"id":5577,"date":"2023-02-14T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-14T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=5577"},"modified":"2023-02-03T01:47:03","modified_gmt":"2023-02-03T01:47:03","slug":"the-ocean-twilight-zone-could-store-vast-amounts-of-carbon-captured-from-the-atmosphere-but-first-we-need-to-build-a-4d-system-to-track-whats-going-on-down-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/the-ocean-twilight-zone-could-store-vast-amounts-of-carbon-captured-from-the-atmosphere-but-first-we-need-to-build-a-4d-system-to-track-whats-going-on-down-there\/","title":{"rendered":"The ocean twilight zone could store vast amounts of carbon captured from the atmosphere \u2013 but first we need to build a 4D system to track what\u2019s going on down there"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n A large robot, loaded with sensors and cameras, designed to explore the ocean twilight zone.\n Marine Imaging Technologies, LLC \u00a9 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution<\/a><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\nPeter de Menocal<\/a>, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution<\/a><\/em><\/span>\n\n

Deep below the ocean surface, the light fades into a twilight zone where whales and fish migrate and dead algae and zooplankton rain down from above. This is the heart of the ocean\u2019s carbon pump<\/a>, part of the natural ocean processes that capture about a third of all human-produced carbon dioxide and sink it into the deep sea, where it remains for hundreds of years<\/a>.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n

There may be ways to enhance these processes so the ocean pulls more carbon out of the atmosphere to help slow climate change. Yet little is known about the consequences.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Peter de Menocal, a marine paleoclimatologist<\/a> and director of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, discussed ocean carbon dioxide removal at a recent TEDxBoston:<\/a> Planetary Stewardship<\/a> event. In this interview, he dives deeper into the risks and benefits of human intervention and describes an ambitious plan to build a vast monitoring network of autonomous sensors in the ocean to help humanity understand the impact.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

First, what is ocean carbon dioxide removal, and how does it work in nature?<\/h2>\n\n

The ocean is like a big carbonated beverage. Although it doesn\u2019t fizz, it has about 50 times more carbon<\/a> than the atmosphere. So, for taking carbon out of the atmosphere and storing it someplace where it won\u2019t continue to warm the planet, the ocean is the single biggest place it can go<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Ocean carbon dioxide removal, or ocean CDR, uses the ocean\u2019s natural ability to take up carbon on a large scale and amplifies it.<\/p>\n\n

\n \"Illustration\n
\n Methods of ocean carbon storage.<\/span>\n Natalie Renier\/\u00a9Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution<\/span><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\n