Underwater drone tracks CO2

[GordMay]

An ocean first: Underwater drone tracks CO2 in Alaska gulf

Alaska has a new tool for tracking ocean acidification — a 7-foot-long, bright pink Seaglider.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks, and its commercial partners, are the first U.S. team to measure carbon dioxide, the driving factor in ocean acidification, with an unoccupied underwater vehicle.

They developed a way to integrate a carbon dioxide sensor with a Seaglider, that can dive up to 1,000 meters, and carry out weekslong missions, to remote parts of the ocean, in every season, unlike ocean moorings, which gather data at a single location year-round, or ships sampling along transects, for several weeks from spring to fall.

More ➥ https://uaf-iarc.org/2022/05/23/univ...rwater-glider/


Video ➥

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHuz...ature=youtu.be

[PippaB]

Thread drift to the point of being very nearly, but not quite entirely off-topic (the words 'underwater' and 'drone' are involved), I am intrigued by this drone that can convert between submarine and quadcopter in 0.3 seconds:

https://gizmodo.com/flying-swimming-...cup-1848931890

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcRb6R4ozIw

Seems like the perfect boat toy following all those discussions here on CF about water landings

[GordMay]

“Start-ups are adding antacids to the ocean to slow global warming.
Will it work?” ~ by Jeff Tollefson [‘Nature’ news feature, June 28/23]

The first commercial experiments are underway, to see whether ocean alkalinity enhancement — essentially using antacids to help the ocean digest CO2 — could slow global warming.
The idea is to speed up a natural geochemical weathering process, that ultimately transfers carbon dioxide, from the atmosphere, into the deep ocean.
Quantifying the technology’s real-world impact remains the biggest challenge.
The newly alkaline seawater needs to remain at the surface, for carbon sequestration to occur.
“If it gets drawn down into the ocean, then we might not get the benefit for another 1,000 years,” explains oceanographer Katja Fennel.

Much more ➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02032-7

See also:

“Stability of alkalinity in ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) approaches – consequences for durability of CO2 storage” ~ by Jens Hartmann et al [Feb 20/22]
➥ https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/2...0-781-2023.pdf

“Assessing ocean alkalinity for carbon sequestration” ~ by Phil Renforth, & Gideon Henderson [2017]
➥ https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley....2/2016RG000533