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perils

Ocean geoengineering

October 24, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A start-up company is exploring ocean geoengineering

As greenhouse gas emissions continue to be dangerously large and the perils of climate change are increasingly apparent, the world is increasingly exploring ways to deliberately intervene in climate systems.  A number of these ideas involve introducing substances into the atmosphere, but there are also ways to tinker with the oceans.

The oceans naturally absorb about a third of the carbon dioxide that humans pump into the atmosphere, mostly by burning coal, gas, and oil.  People are exploring ways to get the ocean to take up even more of the carbon dioxide.  One approach that is gaining traction is known as alkalinity enhancement.  By adding limestone, magnesium oxide, or other alkaline substances to rivers and oceans, it changes their chemistry and makes them soak up more carbon dioxide.

This approach has been around for a while as a way to mitigate acid rain in rivers and has been very successful.  A start-up company in Canada called CarbonRun is building a machine that grinds up limestone and will release the powder it produces into a local river in Nova Scotia.  The limestone in the river will be naturally converted into a stable molecule that will eventually be washed into the seas, where it should remain for thousands of years.

Expanding this approach to oceans faces many challenges including the costs and complexities of obtaining, processing, and transporting vast amounts of limestone to where it is to be released.  There are also potential environmental issues to grapple with.  But CarbonRun and others are moving forward with testing the approach.

In any event, the biggest barrier to ocean alkalinity enhancement is proving that it works.  That effort is underway.

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They’ve Got a Plan to Fight Global Warming. It Could Alter the Oceans.

Photo, posted May 27, 2007, courtesy of John Loo via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Disappearing snow crabs

November 21, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Snow crabs disappeared

Alaska snow crabs are a cold-water species found off the coast of Alaska in the Bering, Beaufort, and Chukchi Seas. They are one of ten commercially-fished species in Alaskan waters. The perils of crab fishing in this region have been well documented for many years in the reality TV series Deadliest Catch.

Last year, officials in Alaska canceled the winter snow crab season for the first time ever due to a sharp population decline. While the number of juvenile snow crabs was at record highs just a few years earlier, approximately 90% of snow crabs mysteriously disappeared ahead of the 2021 season. 

This year, officials in Alaska have once again canceled the snow crab harvest season for the second year in a row, citing the overwhelming numbers of crabs – in the billions – missing from Alaskan waters. 

Scientists have suspected that the warming ocean temperatures triggered this snow crab population collapse.  But did the crabs move someplace else or die off?  According to a new study recently published by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, warmer ocean temperatures likely caused the snow crabs to starve to death.  The research team found a significant link between recent marine heat waves in the eastern Bering Sea and the sudden disappearance of the snow crabs that began showing up in surveys in 2021.

According to the study, warmer ocean water dramatically increases snow crabs’ caloric needs. But with the warmer water also disrupting much of the region’s food web, snow crabs had a hard time foraging for food and weren’t able to keep up.

Researchers expect the population may eventually find refuge in colder waters further north.

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Climate Change And Crabs

Billions of crabs went missing around Alaska

Photo, posted August 28, 2013, courtesy of Boris Kasimov via Flickr.

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Climate Change And Crabs | Earth Wise

November 8, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Climate change wreaking havoc on Arctic crab populations

Globally, there are more than 6,000 species of crabs.  In Alaska’s waters alone, there are 18 species, including 10 that are commercially fished.  The perils of crab fishing in this region, including freezing temperatures, turbulent seas, and raising full pots that can weigh well over a ton, have been highlighted for many years in the reality TV series Deadliest Catch.        

One of those commercially-fished species is the Alaska snow crab.  Alaska snow crabs are a cold-water species found off the coast of Alaska in the Bering, Beaufort, and Chukchi Seas. 

In October, officials in Alaska announced that the upcoming winter snow crab season would be canceled for the first time ever due to a sharp population decline. While the number of juvenile snow crabs was at record highs just a few years ago, approximately 90% of snow crabs mysteriously disappeared ahead of last season.  Officials also canceled the Bristol Bay red king crab harvest for similar reasons for the second year in a row.

The closures dealt a severe blow to crab fishers in the region.  According to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, Alaska’s crab fishing industry is worth more than $200 million. 

The canceled seasons also raise questions about the role of climate change in the snow crab population crash. While the causes of the decline are still being researched, scientists suspect that warmer temperatures are responsible.  Temperatures in the Arctic region have warmed four times faster than the rest of the planet. 

As the climate continues to change, the warming waters around Alaska may become increasingly inhospitable to snow crabs and other species.   

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Alaska’s Bering snow crab, king crab seasons canceled

Alaska cancels snow crab season for first time after population collapses

Photo, posted November 16, 2010, courtesy of David Csepp / NOAA via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The Perils Of Air Conditioning

September 12, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/EW-09-12-17-The-Perils-of-AC.mp3

The battle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is heavily focused on replacing fossil fuel power plants with renewable energy and replacing internal combustion engine autos with electric cars.  But there is another elephant in the room:  air conditioners.

[Read more…] about The Perils Of Air Conditioning

Corporations To The Rescue

March 6, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/EW-03-06-17-Corporations-to-the-Rescue.mp3

Regardless of the new administration’s position on climate change, America’s corporations have assumed a leadership role in the country’s ability to meet and beat previous domestic climate pledges.

[Read more…] about Corporations To The Rescue

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