Oceans & marine

Ocean

Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia.

Year: 2020

Photographer: Giorgia Doglioni (edited by Frameworks)


Fishing boat in between icebergs, Disco Bay, Greenland

The loss of ice in Greenland and the shrinking of glaciers in other parts of the Arctic currently contribute up to 40% of the average 3 mm global sea level rise per year. A number of studies suggest that Greenland could be a major contributor to a potential rise in sea levels of 0,5 to 1 meter by the end of the century.

Year: 2013

Photographer: Peter Prokosch

Improved fishing practices and management

Fisheries contribute to global CO2 emissions by the extraction of fish, disturbance of coastal and oceanic blue carbon ecosystems, and the use of fossil fuels as their main energy source. Fishing vessels are moreover a major source of short-lived climate forcers like black carbon (McKuin and Campbell 2016), which can have a major effect in Arctic and Northern regions (see Black carbon reduction).

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River Ölfusá just North of Selfoss, South Iceland

The Ölfusá is Iceland's largest river in terms of volume (average flow of 423m3/s) and has major importance for the local salmon fishing industry.

Year: 2013

Photographer: Peter Prokosch

River Liming

The pH of water is lowered when it takes up atmospheric carbon. Given that the Earth’s oceans serve as a major carbon sink, there is increasing interest in the possibility to artificially increase the alkalinity of water to restore pH to previous levels, and/or increase carbon uptake potential.

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Cultivating algae for export to Japan, Zanzibar

Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa.

Year: 2013

Photographer: Yannick Beadoin

Seaweed and macro algae cultivation

The potential of carbon sequestration by marine based plants such as mangroves, seagrass and algae, often referred to as blue carbon, and the importance of better understanding it, has clearly been recognised (Mcleod et al. 2011). The IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (2019) concluded blue carbon can play an important role in both climate regulation and adaptation. The term algae groups together several kinds of marine photosynthetic organisms. These are often subdivided into very small microalgae like phytoplankton, and larger macroalgae like kelp and seaweed. Although there is still large uncertainty about the total amount of carbon sequestered by these marine organisms, a recent estimate by Duarte et al. (2022) indicated that all macroalgae took in as much CO2 as the Amazon rainforest.

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Ringed plovers (Charadrius hiaticular) arriving from the Arctic on Tromlingen, Raet National Park

The Tromlingen islands, as a centrepiece and most valuable part of the Raet national park, are an attractive place for bird watchers, in particular in autumn, when migratory birds from the Arctic stop over on the islands.

Year: 2017

Photographer: Peter Prokosch

Ocean Alkalinity enhancement

Carbon uptake in the ocean mainly occurs directly through ocean-atmosphere interaction or through weathering processes. Due to this uptake of carbon, the oceans turn more acidic overtime, and since the start of the industrial revolution oceans have become 30% more acidic. This has all sorts of effects as it, for example, impacts marine biochemistry, and prevents certain organisms from successfully growing.

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