Carbon to Sea and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Announce New Funding to Explore Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement’s Impact on Marine Life

Through its OACIS initiative, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundatio, in partnership with Carbon to Sea, is pleased to announce the recipients of our request for proposals (RFPs) to investigate the impact of ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) on commercially and culturally important marine species. The two selected projects will receive funding for research evaluating the potential effect of OAE on species integral to local food systems, economies, and cultural practices.

Over 24 months, the supported projects will help fill the gaps in research on the impacts of OAE on higher trophic level species, like invertebrates and fish. Through rigorous research, these projects will work to help determine the potential ecological effects of OAE. Insights from this research will help ensure informed decision-making and responsible assessment of ocean-based carbon dioxide removal (oCDR) as the field continues to progress.

Funding recipients include the following projects:

Response of Key Ecosystem Species to Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement in the Pacific Region
Led by Dr. Sebastiaan Van de Velde and Dr. Gaya Gnanalingam of the University of Otago in New Zealand, this project aims to study culturally valuable species in different functional roles — such as mussels, cockles, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, abalone, and kelp — through a series of short-term experiments designed to mimic OAE field research. Dr. Van de Velde and Dr. Gnanalingam hypothesize that under realistic conditions, OAE will have limited effects on early life stages of the selected marine species. Notably, the project will provide new data on the impact of OAE on marine species from the Southern Hemisphere, a comparatively understudied region.

Physiological Impacts of Realistic OAE Exposures on Early Life Stages of a Commercially Important Crustacean and Recreationally Significant Fish
Led by Dr. Adam Subhas of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the United States, this project will use experimental approaches to quantify impacts and identify sensitive thresholds for two species: the commercially-valuable crustacean American Lobster and the recreationally-important fish Tautog. Using sodium hydroxide as the alkalinity source, the project aims to assess key physiological traits in these species during their early development stages, which have the highest potential sensitivity to changes in pH.

To learn more about the RFP, view the application guidelines HERE.