Lobster populations in the Gulf of Maine have declined significantly in recent years, prompting fishermen and scientists to investigate underlying causes of shellfish depletion in warming waters. A third-generation lobster fisherman named Scott Lord has observed that inshore lobster catches have dropped dramatically over the past 15 years, forcing him and other fishers to venture farther offshore. Other once-abundant species such as sea urchins and sand dollars have also become increasingly rare in the region, which is warming faster than 99% of the world’s oceans.
To address ocean acidification and rising carbon levels, scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are researching marine carbon dioxide removal techniques. Adam Subhas leads LOC-NESS, a program investigating ocean alkalinity enhancement, which aims to increase the ocean’s capacity to absorb atmospheric carbon by dispersing alkaline materials across seawater. The technique works on the principle that seawater enriched with alkaline compounds can absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, potentially helping prevent catastrophic climate tipping points.
Investment in ocean carbon removal has grown substantially, with more than £370 million invested in the sector over the past five years according to Ocean Carbon Removal Watch, a tracking database launched by the Pulitzer Center. Recent federal science funding cuts have significantly impacted research programs, leaving LOC-NESS as one of the last major US ocean carbon removal initiatives.
Last summer, Subhas’s team conducted field trials in the Gulf of Maine’s Wilkinson Basin, introducing approximately 65,000 litres of sodium hydroxide into the ocean mixed with red dye for tracking purposes. Using multiple vessels and autonomous underwater vehicles, researchers monitored alkalinity and carbon uptake over four days, providing sensitive measurements of the process. The team is now analyzing two years of trial data to understand how marine organisms, particularly lobsters and other species at the base of the food web such as phytoplankton, respond to varying alkalinity levels.
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