Marine forests of macroalgae, most notably giant kelp occur in regions of rocky sea bottom where colder, nutrient-rich water upwellings occur. The marine macroalgae are fast-growing. It may be possible to preserve such forest ecosystems or create new ecosystems for CDR, maximizing their capacity to capture and sequester carbon dioxide.
History
Stub - March 2023
Forms and Variations
atmospheric carbon dioxide is not directly removed by marine macroalgae, which obtain their carbon from seawater. Therefore, the CDR effect of growing marine macroalgae is that it depletes carbon content of seawater and creates the potential for further carbon dioxide to be dissolved. There can be various methods to promote this.
macroalgae can provide useful commercial products and the biomass residues are biodegradable. There can be various methods to sequester the carbon in this biomass, many related to other forms of biomass sequestration.
{other CDR approaches related to marine macroalgae forestry - micro algae, sargassum harvesting?}
Notable Projects
(collection, processing and sometimes sinking sargassum for sequestration. They also collect sargassum for commercial processes)
{detailed description of exemplar project(s)}
{policy issues and initiatives related to marine macroalgae and CDR}
Further Learning
OpenAir:
This is CDR, Episode 12 - Running Tide Kelp Farming
{universities and companies engaged in marine macroalgae projects, such as ClimateFoundation.org}
{literature and conferences related to marine macroalgae CDR}
{foundations, trusts, and agencies funding marine-macroalgae-related CDR projects, such as Grantham Foundation funding of ClimateFoundation}