Some kelp species can measure up to 150 feet (45 m) long. Although trees store carbon, this storage is vulnerable since deforestation or forest degradation release this carbon back into the atmosphere, undoing the benefits. Kelp harvesting during World War I peaked in 1919 when 400,000 wet tons were used to make potash for gunpowder and fertilizer. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the leading international body on climate change, we need to actively remove or sequester away carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to achieve negative carbon emissions and prevent climate catastrophe. Read more. Researchers are concerned that large-scale harvesting of kelp forests could have significant impacts, as they are an essential part of marine biodiversity. You can see kelp forests in many of . When these plants die, some of the leaves, branches, roots, and stems get buried underwater in the soil and because of low oxygen concentrations underwater, the plant material can stay buried for decades or longer before breaking down and releasing carbon dioxide. There are about 30 different species of kelp worldwide. Destructive fishing practices, coastal pollution, and accidental damage caused by boat entanglement are known to negatively affect kelp forests. We live and farm on the east coast of Newfoundland in Canada, just across the pond from you. University of Adelaide marine biologists have found that reducing nutrient pollution in coastal marine environments should help protect kelp forests from the damaging effects of rising CO2. Did you ever get an answer to your questions about if can dry kelp without releasing Co2. As the turf algae grows it displaces the kelp. Unlike mangroves and seagrass, macroalgae such as kelp usually grow near the shore in rocky and eroding conditions where plant materials cannot get buried. Self-confidence and very concern about the environment, I would like to work for a company which cares about nature and global warming challenge. Runoff from agriculture, storm drains and urban wastewater carry contaminants that damage kelp populations and encourage the growth of invasive algae that . When we think of kelp, we conjure up images of magical underwater forests. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. Your email address will not be published. Stop marine pollution to protect kelp forests. These additional areas also becoming marine parks. Kelp forests comprise one the oceans most diverse ecosystems. Kelp forests grow predominantly along the Eastern Pacific Coast, from Alaska and Canada to the waters of Baja, . The team's findings, published on Oct. 22 in the journal JGR Oceans, show that near the ocean's surface, the water's pH was slightly higher, or less acidic, suggesting the kelp canopy does reduce acidity. "When we manipulated CO2 and nutrient levels in an experimental marine ecosystem we found the effect of both of them together was greater than the sum of their individual impacts," says Dr Bayden Russell, of the University's Environment Institute and Senior Lecturer in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Additionally, some mariculture farms hand-harvest kelp to feed abalone. By absorbing CO2 in the surrounding water, seaweed decreases acidification that can kill marine life. The fishing industries will need to evolve into park management, kelp growing, kelp harvesting, and large scale aquaculture projects. They even slow global warming. Destructive fishing practices, coastal pollution, and accidental damage caused by boat entanglement are known to negatively affect kelp forests. To improve the numbers on how much carbon is being sequestered by macroalgae, we need to be able to measure how much macroalgae ends up in the deep-sea. Sailors for the Sea developed the KELP (Kids Environmental Lesson Plans) program to create the next generation of ocean stewards. Over the past fifty years the world's kelp forests have declined by 50%. "As we face a future of climate change and higher CO2 levels, there is considerable evidence that our marine ecosystems are going to be severely impacted. "Increased nutrients from agriculture, wastewater discharge and stormwater on urban coasts are already causing damage to kelp populations in our coastal waters but our research shows that, as CO2 rises the impacts will be much worse and we could lose these really important marine habitats," says Dr Russell. Apex predators, like the gray wolf, had . pollution, also called environmental pollution, the addition of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or any form of energy (such as heat, sound, or radioactivity) to the environment at a rate faster than it can be dispersed, diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in some harmless form. The team's findings, published on Oct. 22 in the journal JGR Oceans, show that near the ocean's surface, the water's pH was slightly higher, or less acidic, suggesting the kelp canopy does reduce . To achieve this will require the South Pacific Ocean becoming a marine park. It can occur due to nuclear plant malfunctions, improper nuclear waste disposal, accidents, etc. University of Adelaide. From macroalgae found in the guts of deep-sea crustaceans, we have inferred for decades that macroalgae travel far from where they are grown and make their way to depths of over 6000 meters under water. The researchers have found a combined effect on kelp forests from nutrient pollution and higher CO2, which could have a devastating impact on Australia's marine ecosystems. Their rough estimate suggests that around 200 million tons of carbon dioxide are being sequestered by macroalgae every year about as much as the annual emissions of the state of New York. 3 University of California, Santa Barbara. Intriguing idea, Geoffrey. Kelp farms allow growers to make use of existing aquaculture resources in their areas. Some species aggregate and spawn in kelp forests or utilize these areas as juvenile nursery habitat. The impacts of predator loss and climate change are combining to devastate living reefs that have defined Alaskan kelp forests for centuries, according to new research published in Science . Kelp does not have roots. We use kelp from beaches in our area to nourish the soil and grow healthy food. These gas-filled bladders allow bits of macroalgae to float for long distances and be carried far away from where the macroalgae is grown. Kelp is the name given to several species of large brown seaweed. Adding a small amount of red. 2. Content on this website is for information only. I know that research is being done in California on open-ocean kelp farming, using robotic submersibles to raise and lower the kelp beds (for sunlight at daytime, nutrients from deeper water at night), but the purpose is to produce biofuels. Characterized by severe storms and warm water, El Nio Southern Oscillation Events, often devastate kelp forests. I have a proposal for removing gigatonnes of CO2 from the South Pacific Ocean and in doing so, reducing not only the acidity of the ocean but also reducing atmospheric CO2. However, those effects did not extend to the ocean floor, where sensitive cold-water corals, urchins and shellfish dwell and the most . Sea otters play a key role in stabilizing sea urchin populations so that kelp forests may thrive.2, 5. Overall, the team found that coastal darkening caused the kelp forests to fix up to 4.7 times less carbon. Unfortunately, because the carbon is stored close to the shore, it can be easily disturbed by runoff, human activity, or storms and released back into the atmosphere sooner than it otherwise might have. Hi, Have you gotten any further with this? This work by SITNBoston is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. The method of removing the CO2 is a vast free-floating kelp forest ecosystem between New Zealand and South America and the key to growing this, is individual bamboo kelp buoys. The Natural Gardener Inc. Research from 2016 suggests that the world's kelp forests sequester as much as 200 . Sign up today to get weekly updates and action alerts from Oceana. Unless otherwise indicated, attribute to the author or graphics designer and SITNBoston, linking back to this page if possible. Marine plants that contribute to this carbon sequestration, such as mangroves and seagrass, live in rich soil. Although carbon sequestration is necessary to slow climate change, carbon sequestration alone cannot prevent climate catastrophe unless we reduce our use of fossil fuels. Very interesting blog and information, I just finished my postgrads studies, I was very picky, cause is not just about money It is need to pay attention about who school is gonna be better thats why I choose the best MBA Spain Now I am really prepared to the next chapter of my life. Im not a scientist but have been pondering for a while whether kelp could be grown at scale in the open ocean and then deliberately sunk as a method of carbon capture. As macroalgae slowly degrade, they expel bits of DNA into the environment. The major kinds of pollution, usually classified by . The importance of macroalgae in sequestering away carbon has been overlooked until recently, however, because it is difficult to precisely measure how much carbon is sequestered and exported to the deep sea. Would love to know if this is feasible as a carbon positive drawdown and food growing option. Population sizes of many of these species (including some that are commercially important food species) depend on the success of kelp growth each year. Hannah Zucker is a second-year PhD candidate in the Program in Neuroscience at Harvard University. We have already protected nearly 4 million square miles of ocean and innumerable sea life -but there is still more to be done. It seems licensing is a serious issue regarding this particular topic. I work for a company that is looking into the many benefits of kelp planting. Kelp forests are one of the most productive marine ecosystems in colder waters and form the basis of food webs for many fish and other marine life. Because they contain unpalatable compounds, macroalgae remain mostly uneaten as they travels across the ocean. Eventually, the air bladders burst and the macroalgae sink down towards the deep-sea floor, where the carbon is thought to be sequestered away from the atmosphere for centuries (and potentially up to millions of years). Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Https/Southpacificmarinepark.com Emergencies: To report a serious, life-threatening problem with bottled water, call the 24-hour emergency line at 1-866-300-4374 or 1-301-796-8240. Forests of fast-growing kelp influence the chemistry of the water in which they live. Though kelp forests are important ecosystems wherever they occur, they are more dynamic than the other systems mentioned above. I find it VERY interteing that the Kelp grows so quickly and is so much mire effective than land based plants on the removal of carbon dioxide. High energy storms or swells can uproot entire plants and break away fronds. The major kinds of pollution, usually classified by environment, are air pollution, water pollution, and . University of Adelaide. Thermal/Heat Pollution. Radioactive pollution is highly dangerous when it occurs. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily, its staff, its contributors, or its partners. Pollution, also called environmental pollution, the addition of any substance ( solid, liquid, or gas) or any form of energy (such as heat, sound, or radioactivity) to the environment at a rate faster than it can be dispersed, diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in some harmless form. Kelp forests are underwater ecosystems formed in shallow water by the dense growth of several different species known as kelp. We won't be able to manage those global factors at the local level, but what we can manage is local nutrient pollution into our seas from urban areas," he says. 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