Subhas et al. (2025): A tracer study for the development of in-water monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of ship-based ocean alkalinity enhancement

Adam V. Subhas, Jennie E. Rheuban, Zhaohui Aleck Wang, Daniel C. McCorkle, Anna P. M. Michel, Lukas Marx, Chloe L. Dean, Kate Morkeski, Matthew G. Hayden, Mary Burkitt-Gray, Francis Elder, Yiming Guo, Heather H. Kim, and Ke Chen, IN: Biogeosciences, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-5511-2025

Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) is a marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) approach that relies on the addition of liquid or solid alkalinity into seawater to take up and neutralize carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere. Documenting the effectiveness of OAE for carbon removal requires research and development of measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) frameworks. Specifically, direct observations of carbon uptake via OAE will be critical to constrain the total carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and to validate the model-based MRV approaches currently in use. In September 2023, the authors conducted a ship-based rhodamine water tracer (RT) release in United States federal waters south of Martha’s Vineyard, MA, followed by a 36 h tracking and monitoring campaign.

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