The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the nonprofit Carbon to Sea initiative have partnered to outline guidelines that will standardize data management for marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) projects.
Through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), the two organizations hope to streamline a unified set of rules to be used by researchers working on mCDR initiatives, boosting the compatibility and consistency of knowledge-sharing in this sphere.
The three-year partnership is expected to create a foundation that will promote cooperation between stakeholders in the marine CDR sector.
NOAA assistant administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and Ph.D. Steve Thur, commented, “This partnership will help us build a strong data management foundation for mCDR research, enabling more efficient collaboration and accelerating our understanding of these important technologies.”
Carbon removal has been recognized as a vital tool in the fight against climate change. Marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) refers to the technologies that leverage the ocean’s natural capacity to absorb and store atmospheric CO2 for long periods of time.
While signaling great decarbonization potential, marine CDR still requires further research and analysis to be validated as a safe and effective method for tackling the issue of atmospheric CO2 pollution.
By establishing guidelines on mCDR data management, the NOAA and Carbon To Sea want to facilitate a trustworthy and reliable network that will enable the sharing and exchange of information amongst researchers in this field, ultimately advancing mCDR credibility.
Relevant: NOAA Announces New Marine Carbon Removal Research Strategy
Carbon to Sea Executive Director, Antonius Gagern, shared, “We look forward to working with NOAA to establish strong and aligned data guidelines to help scientists share knowledge, improve their research, and ensure we can gain a clear picture of what we are learning from the field.”
The CRADA will focus on pinpointing best practices for reliable metadata, data, and terms in marine CO2 removal. The guidelines will highlight key mCDR aspects that need to be examined in the research, like efficacy, impact, scalability, measurement, reporting, and verification.
In a broader perspective, besides providing a baseline for research efforts backed by NOAA and Carbon to Sea programs, these guidelines will also deliver valuable mCDR data management navigation for researchers worldwide.
Read more: Ocean Visions Is Offering Up To $1.5M For mCDR Environmental Impact Assessment Framework
