The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently closed a public comment period on a research permit for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s (WHOI) LOC-NESS project, which aims to transparently evaluate the effectiveness and environmental impact of ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) as a carbon dioxide removal solution. 

The project has attracted the support of a diverse range of local and national stakeholders including leading ocean scientists, environmental organizations, and local community groups. The proposed project is funded in part by the Carbon to Sea Initiative.

After hosting and participating in more than 50 community engagement events, the amended permit application incorporates community feedback by combining two proposed research phases into one study off the Gulf of Maine. The controlled research effort will monitor the addition of an alkaline solution to surface waters to understand the influence on the rate of carbon dioxide absorption and important environmental indicators. This builds on years of successful lab-based research that have demonstrated no significant or lasting impacts of temporary alkalinity addition to surrounding marine environments. The proposed field research is an important step forward to determine the safety and efficacy of OAE in a closely-monitored, real-world environment. 

This research will directly answer bipartisan demand for independent scientific research on carbon removal strategies and strengthen America’s position as a leader in scientific R&D.

Carbon to Sea’s full comment in support of the LOC-NESS proposal is available HERE. The project received positive, substantive comments from dozens of other stakeholders, environmental groups, experts, academic institutions, and community groups. This included Noah Planavsky from the Yale Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Kristen Kleisner from the Environmental Defense Fund, and Alicia Karspeck from [C]Worthy, among others. Additional excerpts of note are below.

  • Kristy Senatori, Executive Director, Cape Cod Commission: “WHOI’s capacity to conduct experiments like the one proposed is unparalleled. WHOI has a long history of ocean research and development of science-based solutions to global challenges. Their research is conducted in a transparent and responsible manner and the results obtained are reliable and thoroughly vetted. The LOC-NESS project will inform local, regional, and global climate action and I urge you to issue the necessary permits for the work proposed.”
  • Robert Rheault, Executive Director, East Coast Shellfish Growers Association: “We view the proposed work as a much-needed, low-risk experiment that aims to assess potential risks associated with increasing ocean alkalinity to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide. The chemistry of this process is well understood, and the stoichiometry is clearly defined. The key questions to address primarily concern whether the process could have unintended negative impacts on marine ecosystems.”
  • Falmouth Climate Action Network Steering Committee Members: “We appreciate WHOI’s expertise in this area and their efforts to design an experimental study which would allow for a better understanding of how an increase in alkalinity might help to mitigate the problem of excess CO₂ in the oceans. Scientists know that CO₂ is currently rapidly altering ocean chemistry in a potentially adverse way to marine life, as well as the planet. We appreciate WHOI’s effort to inform the public about the purpose and design of this experiment and believe it is vitally important research for the future of the oceans.”
  • Meredith White, Director of Hatchery Operations, Atlantic Aqua Farms: “Research into mCDR is critical to understand ways to mitigate the impacts of climate change on industries and ecosystems. The work proposed through the LOC-NESS project is well-planned and provides a low-risk means to conduct a highly monitored field trial of alkalinity enhancement, allowing an understanding of how regional ocean conditions and human activities would interact with OAE.”
  • Christopher Hunt, Research Assistant Professor, University of New Hampshire Ocean Process Analysis Lab: “ As a scientist who has worked in the region for years, I recognize that conditions in Wilkinson Basin are well suited for this experiment, and the available data indicate that the risk of this trial is low. While not involved in the LOC-NESS project, I am well acquainted with the research team and am confident that they can safely and successfully carry out this important field trial.
  • Larry Mayer, Director, Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping at the University of New Hampshire: “The Woods Hole team has an excellent track record for planning and carrying out transparent and responsible programs and have carefully analyzed the potential impact of their field trials. I am confident that they will carry out these critical experiments with minimal, if any, environmental risk. I firmly believe that the risk of not carrying out experiments like this far exceeds any risk associated with the experiment itself.”
  • Diane Hoskins, Director of Policy, Carbon to Sea Initiative: “Timely issuance of this permit is critical to provide researchers the certainty needed to conduct their field research as planned. We strongly urge the EPA to ensure that the final permit is issued expeditiously so that this important research can proceed this summer. The proposed research and these permits represent an important step forward for the U.S. in developing an effective and timely regulatory process for oCDR research and can provide important insights into the potential of this OAE pathway.”
  • Julie Lockwood, Director, Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute: “As a research-based institute with a mission to elevate high-quality science around climate change solutions, we view the proposed research plan as a much-needed effort to produce a quality evidence base on the efficacy and impacts of marine carbon removal. This approach to carbon mitigation has received comparatively little attention relative to similar terrestrial approaches, leaving the consequences of implementation at-scale very poorly understood. The research plan proposed by WHOI will collect evidence that is very difficult, if not impossible, to generate outside of the large-scale field experiment setting they propose. Such information is critical to our ability to evaluate marine carbon removal as a viable and reliable climate change solution.”
  • Romany Webb and Korey Silverman-Roati, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Columbia Sabin Center for Climate Change Law: “Such research is critical to improve understanding of mCDR and determine whether any technique might be used to help combat the climate crisis (alongside necessary emissions reductions and other climate change response strategies). A 2022 report by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (“NASEM”) concluded that “[e]xpanded research including field research is needed to assess [mCDR] techniques’ potential efficacy . . . [and] to identify and quantify environmental impacts, risks, benefits, and co-benefits.2 As an independent, non-profit ocean research institution, WHOI is well placed to conduct the research called for in the NASEM report.”
  • David Koweek, Chief Scientist, Ocean Visions: “Well-designed, controlled field trials, such as those proposed under the permit, are our best way to gain real-world information about the efficacy and impacts of mCDR approaches in ways that can never be replicated in laboratory, mesocosm, and/or modeling studies. The WHOI LOC-NESS Wilkinson Basin Study is the first planned field trial of ocean alkalinity enhancement on a coastal shelf environment anywhere in the world. Simply put, the scientific merit of the project is outstanding and will position the United States as a global leader in mCDR research and development.”
  • Giana Amador, Executive Director, Carbon Removal Alliance: “We believe the LOC-NESS Wilkinson Basin Study will provide invaluable data on the impacts of carbon storage in the ocean, and dramatically advance our understanding of the efficacy of ocean alkalinity enhancement. Coastal communities depend on the ocean for their economic survival. CRA’s recently published report on the economic impacts of marine carbon removal indicates that these technologies are critical to developing strong, resilient, coastal economies. The LOC-NESS Wilkinson Basin Study will strengthen America’s position as a global leader in the field of ocean science and create the foundation for economic development.”
  • Grace Andrews, Executive Director, Hourglass Climate: “We have reviewed the LOC-NESS project details and believe that it has been designed by a qualified team, with scientific rigor, and in a way that will minimize potential negative environmental impact. The trial is very small, and the alkalinity plume is likely to dissipate to below detectable limits on a short timescale, thereby preventing significant or long-term environmental impact. We believe the results from the field trial are likely to provide meaningful, highly novel, scientific knowledge about the efficacy of OAE as a climate strategy, and therefore the relative benefit of continuing to research such climate technologies.”

More information about the proposed study can be found HERE.