How innovative science in the oceans is helping to combat the climate

Call it a cosmic case of celestial navigation: In its quest to combat the existential threat of climate challenge, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) had been examining its relationships with corporate America, wondering if deeper interaction might speed advancements. So, when Analog Devices (ADI), a leading global semiconductor company headquartered in Massachusetts, reached out to see whether the research institution—which already utilized Analog Devices technology—could use ADI’s help, it was as though fate intervened.

In addition to being Bay State neighbors steeped in academic heritage, both organizations understood that the oceans are a key factor in addressing climate change. In fact, oceans serve as a giant carbon sponge, holding 50 times more than the atmosphere and up to 20 times more than all land plants and soil combined. In addition, the ocean absorbs up to one-third of CO2 from greenhouse gas emissions—unfortunately, along with 90% of the heat that’s generated by industrial activity—while providing food, water, and regulating climate.

WHOI is the world’s leading independent organization focused specifically on ocean science and technology, and ADI already had a proven track record of academic collaboration, including the Semiconductor Research Corporation, a consortium of technology companies, academia, and government agencies. That model served as inspiration for the two organizations to form the Ocean and Climate Innovation Accelerator (OCIA)—with emphasis on accelerator.

“Acceleration [means] to utilize as much as we can from existing technologies that can be applied to ocean engineering, whether they come from space [ADI technology is used in the Mars Rover and Hubble telescope], health devices, or from autonomous vehicles,” says Zoran Zvonar, an Analog Devices fellow and director of its University Programs. “The point is that you are making a conscious effort to accelerate the field through collaboration, rather than waiting for market forces.”

SEEKING LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS

ADI brings two core benefits to the consortium: funding and resources. The former often comes in the form of grants that WHOI uses to fuel research, while the latter encompasses ADI’s ability to engineer and produce bespoke technology that can be fine-tuned to the needs of each project. ADI technologies that have potential to accelerate OCIA projects include sensors with robust applications; power electronics that may also support WHOI’s fleet of more than 100 sophisticated underwater vehicles, from gliders that skim the ocean’s surface to autonomous craft that can dive several miles deep; and, finally, communication devices that might someday enable everything to be connected, in order to compare and analyze real-time data points across regions.

Ken Buesseler, senior scientist of marine chemistry and geochemistry at WHOI, whose work is being supported in part with OCIA funds, says that in order to truly understand the interrelationship between the oceans and climate—and, specifically, how humans are changing the latter—you need pervasive sensing, measuring, and monitoring that require low-cost sensors and many additional technologies. “That’s going to take scientists who know what they need, in combination with companies that can produce technology that works and can be deployed by the thousands, instead of a one-off instrument that is typically part of a National Science Foundation grant or something like that.”

This is where ADI’s generous funding comes in to play. Since Woods Hole is a nonprofit, its scientists, engineers, and technicians work on projects funded by internal or external grants. Carol Anne Clayson, a senior scientist at WHOI, underscores how the ADI grants afford her group the critical time needed “to focus on a particular project, to interact with ADI and the future members of the OCIA consortium, and to think about how to extend OCIA into a long-term—or a much bigger—solution.”

Or, as Zoran Zvonar puts it, “By working together and benefitting from complementary expertise, can we define something that will be truly revolutionary and will benefit society at large?”

THE REVOLUTION IS NOW

This sort of forward-thinking collaboration is already unleashing the creative potential of OCIA projects. A nascent exploration into automated image processing could, for instance, open up new pathways in deep-sea exploration what Clayson calls a “game changer.” Other projects inspire new approaches to established experiments, such as tracking iron fertilization uptake among phytoplankton, and whether adding that nutrient might accelerate plankton growth. This could lead to increased CO2 absorption, which can then dissolve and settle the carbon into durable storage in the deep ocean.

One project breaks new ground closer to shore: a low-cost ultrasonic sensor for monitoring coastal flooding and sea level. “Open ocean is where a lot of [carbon] storage and climate things happen,” Buesseler says. “But it’s out of sight, out of mind. The coastal ocean directly impacts humanity and where we live. It’s where the action is.” Coastal regions currently absorb roughly half of the carbon that the entire ocean does, with the destruction of mangroves, marshes, and reefs making the job even harder. But those regions also offer the opportunity to raise awareness among the public and regionally dependent industries, ideally getting them involved as stakeholders in finding solutions to climate change.

For example, Buesseler cites how OCIA scientists are working with local lobstermen to put sensors on their pots. “Think how many measurements you’d get at every lobster pot if we had pH, temperature, water, and other carbon-property sensors on them,” he says. “For us, that would take research boats and years of planning. But they’re out there every day—that’s their job.” Consequently, the next wave of OCIA grants are focused on improving sensors for monitoring coastal waterways and researching mitigation strategies.

Which is fortunate, as the only thing that’s certain about climate change is that no one can currently monitor or measure carbon uptake in the ocean at anything like the scale or accuracy needed to enable ocean-based carbon removal solutions. Nor will one industry in a consortium provide all the answers. And the clock is ticking. “We are going to have to bring in industries that have not been engaged before,” Clayson says. “It will take an all-hands-on-deck approach. We scientists are ready to engage. But we need more than government support in order to do that. We need smart, visionary partners to really accelerate and get us to a place where we need to be. And we need to get there as quickly as possible.”

Samantha Fontaine, the director of technology for social impact at Analog Devices, frames the issue in almost mythological terms. “When you heat up the ocean, you disrupt everything,” she says. “But the ocean is not only a victim, it can also be a hero, because it already naturally sequesters carbon. The big question is: How can we bring people together to support the ocean to more effectively save the planet and all its inhabitants?” The OCIA is one answer to that question.