Salish GasEx

Marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) has the potential to contribute to climate change mitigation; however, the rate at which the mCDR industry must scale to enable meaningful removals presents substantial challenges. The next decade will be pivotal; it is now critical to establish pilot projects that demonstrate proof of concept and provide a basis for scaling. This project will conduct an ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) pilot project in partnership with an mCDR startup company in the Salish Sea. The investigators will utilize a numerical modeling framework to design this experiment, including a release strategy and a sampling plan that enable tracking of environmental impacts. The project will consist of a research cruise planned for the summer of 2026, consisting of a 3 He and SF₆ tracer release experiment to determine gas transfer velocities and mixing rates, important yet uncertain factors determining the spread of alkalinity and CO₂ uptake rates in coastal environments.