Perspectives on Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal from the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network

Abstract

Along with other carbon monitoring groups, the ocean acidification (OA) community has been observing, modeling, and projecting the impacts of changing carbonate chemistry for over two decades. The Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON) has three key goals related to these issues: (1) improve understanding of global OA conditions, (2) improve understanding of ecosystem responses to OA, and (3) acquire and exchange data necessary to optimize modeling for OA and its impacts. GOA-ON and associated networks have a wealth of knowledge, data, models, and best practice guides on how to monitor global carbonate chemistry, and GOA-ON regional hubs collaborate at local scales to inform policy and action for coastal communities. Here, the GOA-ON community shares lessons learned relevant for marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) research and development. Understanding whether, how, and where mCDR approaches should be deployed will require knowledge of the carbonate system, robust observations, sensor technology, and modeling capacities. Ongoing monitoring, reporting, and verification during field trials and any eventual implementation of mCDR will again require these resources. The GOA-ON community’s knowledge about environmental impacts, running laboratory and field experiments, and deriving biological indicators of change is of fundamental importance for assessing the environmental impacts of mCDR and of the potential for mitigating or exacerbating OA. Finally, we present recommendations for utilizing this OA experience toward mCDR research.