Oceans as climate saviors? How the ocean is to absorb (even) more carbon dioxide

Today, November 15, 2023, the eighth edition of the World Ocean Review (WOR) is published – a scientific compendium of German marine research, published by maribus gGmbH, the Kiel Future Ocean Network, the German Marine Research Consortium (KDM) and the International Ocean Institute. The eighth edition of the WOR includes contributions from more than 20 scientists, the majority of whom conduct research at member institutions of the German Marine Research Alliance (DAM) and in the DAM research mission CDRmare.

Entitled “Climate savior ocean? How the ocean is to absorb (even) more carbon dioxide”, the new issue is dedicated exclusively to the subject of “carbon dioxide removal” (CDR) and explains the urgency of effective climate protection measures. In recent decades, the ocean has absorbed and stored around a quarter of the carbon dioxide emissions released by humans, thereby significantly slowing down climate change. The aim of marine CDR processes is to increase this natural CO2 uptake by the ocean. Researchers are currently investigating the feasibility, costs, benefits, risks and sustainability of these removal processes in various projects. The compendium explains the Earth‘s carbon cycle and presents the benefits, risks and knowledge gaps of the most relevant ocean–based carbon dioxide removal processes.

“The WOR 8 describes measures that (could) already be implemented and those that should still be evaluated as options in terms of their benefits, but also because of possible risks. All German marine research facilities and institutes are involved in relevant projects, demonstrating once again how cooperation between the various disciplines of marine research is capable of quickly developing viable and sustainable contributions to solve global challenges. The WOR 8 impressively presents a kaleidoscope of current marine research in 2023, but also shows what knowledge is still lacking in order to make even more reliable recommendations to implementing stakeholders,” writes Prof. Dr. Ulrich Bathmann, Chairman of the German Marine Research Consortium (KDM) and Board Member of DAM, in his foreword.

The World Ocean Review is published biennially in German and English. It provides up-to-date background knowledge on relevant marine issues and is aimed at anyone who wants to have a say in marine protection and use. The current WOR issue “Climate savior ocean? How the ocean is to absorb (even) more carbon dioxide” can be ordered free of charge as a print copy via the website worldoceanreview.com or downloaded as a PDF version – soon to be translated in English.

Knowledge from the DAM research mission CDRmare

The eighth edition of the WOR is the result of a collaboration between more than 20 scientists. The majority of them conduct research at member institutions of the DAM – in particular GEOMAR, MARUM, the Institute of Baltic Sea Research (IOW), the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), the Center for Interdisciplinary Marine Sciences Kiel Marine Science (KMS) at Kiel University and the University of Hamburg – as well as the DAM research mission CDRmare. In this interdisciplinary mission on “Marine carbon storage as a path to decarbonization”, around 200 scientists in six different collaborative projects are investigating whether and to what extent the ocean can play a significant and sustainable role in the absorption and storage of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In addition, connections with and effects on the marine environment, the earth system and society are being determined.

Header Picture: Laura Barry/ unsplash