A report released on Wednesday by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine looks towards the planet’s oceans to combat climate change. The nearly 300-page document presents a variety of potential solutions ranging from seaweed farming to administering electric shocks to reduce an ocean’s acidity. Estimated research costs range from allocating $25 million to investigate artificial wave creation to spending $350 million to research electrochemical solutions. The world’s oceans function as a massive carbon sink already, capturing about a quarter of all man-made emissions. Moving from land to sea certainly makes sense in this context. There are six solutions presented in the report along with an estimate of their risks and effectiveness. They include adding minerals to make the ocean less acidic, adding nutrients to stimulate plankton photosynthesis, and a series of plans meant to restore the ocean’s ecosystem. Scientists are doubtful that ecosystem recovery would yield meaningful benefits, however. When reached by the Associated Press, Breakthrough Institute climate scientist Zeke Hausfather said he was the most confident in electrochemical solutions to fight ocean acidity. “[It has] the highest potential for long-term carbon removal at a scale large enough to make a meaningful impact,” Hausfather said. Though our oceans can absorb massive amounts of greenhouse gasses, it comes at a cost: All that carbon dioxide turns into carbonic acid, which threatens marine life. Neutralizing that acidity could be a game-changer. Hausfather is less certain about ocean fertilization, which would include adding nutrients like phosphorous to stimulate photosynthesis in plankton. Read more