The ocean could be a critical part of the solution for our planet’s carbon dioxide problem. Specifically, ocean iron fertilization (OIF) holds great promise. Why? Because in a few key parts of the ocean, biological activity that helps naturally remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is limited by a lack of iron in seawater. Adding iron to these waters can help spur the growth of phytoplankton and increase both ocean uptake and deep-sea sequestration of carbon. If proven to be effective, OIF would reduce warming due to removal of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO₂) and reduce surface ocean acidification, both of which threaten ocean ecosystems and impact biodiversity. This seminar will review the need for CO₂ removal, why the oceans are being considered for marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR), with an emphasis on OIF as one mCDR approach, which along with emissions reductions, will be needed to reduce human suffering and environmental loss due to climate change.

Ken Buesseler is a marine radiochemist and Senior Scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Director of the Center for Marine and Environmental Radioactivity that he founded in 2013. He is best known for work using natural and manmade isotopes in the ocean to study processes such as the movement of carbon and iron from the surface to deep ocean, as well as studies of the fate and transport of radioactive contaminants in the ocean. Dr. Buesseler participated in two ocean iron fertilization (OIF) experiments, leading one of three research vessels during the last major US OIF experiment off Antarctica, and is co-author on more than 10 papers focused on OIF, including the 2021 NASEM report on marine CO₂ removal.

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