By Carbon to Sea Initiative
Earlier this year, Carbon to Sea and COVE announced a Joint Learning Opportunity to support research and field-building for ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE). Carbon to Sea is excited to spotlight Sequoia Scientific, Inc. as a key partner in groundbreaking OAE field trials currently underway in Halifax, Canada. We recently spoke with Sequoia President and CEO Ole Mikkelsen, Science and Technology lead Kirby Simon, and Manager of Sales and Marketing Jim Decker to learn more about how their work is advancing ocean-climate research.
We previously highlighted the work of Adam Subhas, an Associate Scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Carbon to Sea grantee (HERE).
Why was Sequoia eager to be part of the research Carbon to Sea is funding in Halifax, and once this project concludes, what’s next for Sequoia?
JIM DECKER: This opportunity is an important point of growth for Sequoia. Over the next several months of the project, we are continuing to build great relationships with partners across the OAE field that we hope to carry forward.
Our team has also been able to acquire knowledge about how specific Sequoia instruments performed in a new field environment and in measuring key indicators relevant to OAE. This is relevant and important data which can be used in determining how to focus our current sensors and even develop new products to benefit future research in this sector. Sharing knowledge and tools pushes the boundaries of our current thinking and accelerates progress, so we hope this success will inspire other organizations to invest in similar efforts.
More broadly, Sequoia is excited to be part of this pivotal moment for the OAE field and we’re looking forward to seeing how the data our team is collecting will be able to deepen what we know about OAE’s potential as a climate solution. This work in Halifax — gathering in-situ data, validating new methodologies, and collaborating with some of the best minds in the field — is a strong foundation for future research to build on.
How does Sequoia’s involvement in the Joint Learning Opportunity create momentum for OAE and field research?
KIRBY SIMON: The Sequoia team is proud to have been selected for this project with Carbon to Sea and COVE. It’s been great working with partners at Dalhousie University and Planetary Technologies to introduce our technology to the OAE field and support the important real-world research that’s needed to assess OAE’s potential as a climate solution. This project in Halifax marks the first in-situ trial of its kind, and Sequoia’s LISST sensors are the perfect fit to help answer key research questions associated with alkalinity addition.
In the case of OAE, researchers need to understand how alkaline material disperses and dissolves when added to the water, and how this affects the chemistry of the broader river, lake, or ocean environment. There is also a need to understand potential environmental impacts such as secondary precipitation, to determine if OAE can be a scalable climate solution. Our LISST sensors are uniquely suited to support this research — as measuring particles and water optical properties directly can provide the in-situ data necessary to understand alkalinity fate and transport after it is added to the water.
As a result of this opportunity, we are able to test our sensors in an emerging scientific field and dynamic water environment while simultaneously supporting several scientific investigations led by Dalhousie and Planetary researchers. We are proud to contribute to this cross-disciplinary and collaborative research effort to assess the efficacy of OAE as a marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) strategy, and we look forward to continuing this collaboration in the coming months and sharing our results with the broader scientific community and public.
What role do you see Sequoia playing in ocean-climate research more broadly?
OLE MIKKELSEN: Since our founding in 1995, when we invented the LISST series of aquatic science sensors, Sequoia has been the global leader in technologies for submersible measurements of suspended particles and water optical properties. We’ve now developed, prototyped or manufactured more than 40 different types of sensors. Today, thousands of our LISST instruments are in use, helping ocean and freshwater researchers around the world better understand our oceans and the aquatic environment. While we’re a small business, we pride ourselves on making a big impact — our sensors are used in fundamental research on topics such as sediment transport, oil spill response, microplastics, aquatic optics, biogeochemistry, satellite remote sensing validation, and lately, carbon flux and climate change.
Our sensors use laser diffraction and other optical principles to measure particles and optical properties in real or near real-time. They are mostly self-contained, which provide for flexible deployment and installation methods: research vessel (R/V) labs, profiling packages, gliders, floats, unmanned vehicles, fixed moorings, remote monitoring stations as well as standalone deployment. This flexibility allows researchers to really get below the surface and better understand the processes they are studying and their potential impact on ocean-climate research.
Our sensors help scientists unlock new insights that can revolutionize how we approach environmental monitoring, conservation, and climate science. This includes emerging mCDR strategies such as OAE.
