By Carbon to Sea Initiative
At this year’s American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference, the Carbon to Sea Initiative convened marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) experts to help establish data management guidelines for ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE). The goal of these guidelines is to increase the usability, interoperability, and inter-comparability of OAE projects across organizations, enhancing the impact of research findings in this critical field.
The draft protocols—designed to be both flexible and rigorous—distinguish between recommendations and requirements, setting a new standard for research documentation in this emerging field.
“These guidelines are an important step in professionalizing the sector and ensuring that researchers are better equipped to share and compare data,” said Liqing Jiang, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration archives affiliate for ocean-based CDR. “We cannot advance our understanding of oCDR’s impact without testing how OAE and other approaches interact with real-world ocean environments. This shared set of best practices will open new lines of collaboration, allowing researchers to more rigorously and efficiently assess OAE’s potential as a climate solution.”
Once finalized, the requirements will be integrated into funding and partnership agreements across the Carbon to Sea and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s mCDR portfolio, as part of Carbon to Sea’s recent Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with NOAA. The protocol will be considered a “living document” and undergo annual reviews to ensure its continued relevance and effectiveness.
“While it’s a huge task to standardize across such diverse fields and sampling types, the OAE community has been really driving this with their energy,” said Jacki Long, co-founder of Submarine. “This new protocol will help us respond to the urgency of the problem we’re aiming to solve, while also maintaining a high bar for environmental responsibility and scientific rigor. We’re committed to working together to set mCDR research up for success.”
Dr. Gabby Kitch from NOAA's Ocean Acidification Program emphasized the critical nature of these protocols: "NOAA is supporting research on marine carbon dioxide removal that is producing substantial data. This effort by Carbon to Sea to create best data management practices is essential to sharing that research and maximizing its impact."
Researchers shared their perspectives about the value of establishing guidelines. Alyssa Griffin from UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory noted that "The community has made a lot of progress. It's really inspiring to see. Although it might not be perfect on the first go around, I appreciate the transparency and thought going into it." Dariia Atamanchuk from Dalhousie University underscored the urgency, noting the importance of getting ahead of the enormous data emerging as the field expands.
Participants from industry, academia, and government engaged in deep, passionate discussions, adding feedback to shared posters and diving into nuanced conversations about the draft guidelines.
Building on the work done at the workshop, researchers and stakeholders are invited to participate in the upcoming open comment period. Participants will be credited as "Contributing Authors," and those interested in developing emerging standards are encouraged to email Jacki Long at jacki@submarine.earth.
