Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

SeaCURE‚ mission is to substantially reduce global atmospheric CO2 without causing adverse environmental impact. SeaCURE was conceived in 2020 by world-leading experts in the ocean carbon cycle at Plymouth Marine Lab and University of Exeter, who realized that CO2 removal from the ocean has inherent advantages over direct air capture. SeaCURE secured funding from the UK government in 2021 to test (theoretically and in the laboratory) the merits of our ideas. Through this first phase of funding we rigorously assessed whether there are fundamental barriers to the success of SeaCURE. Finding none, we have secured a second phase of UK government funding to design and build a demonstration plant in collaboration with an engineering and technology-focused SME with the necessary expertise in water processing and carbon removal.

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How Project Affects Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions:

Removes/stores GHGs (e.g., projects that capture, sequester, or otherwise enhance the "sinks" that accumulate and store GHGs)

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Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

Climate change will exacerbate inequality, particularly in climate-vulnerable communities, such as low-lying nations and rural developing world communities, which tend to be more directly dependent on natural resources. Furthermore, excess CO2 (an acidic gas) is causing the ocean to become more acidic and thus less hospitable to many lifeforms, particularly those with calcium carbonate shells and skeletons such as shellfish and corals. This other CO2 problem will also disproportionately affect climate-vulnerable coastal communities.

By mitigating climate change globally and countering ocean acidification locally, SeaCURE will reduce threats to climate-vulnerable communities, especially those depending on living marine resources. We envisage SeaCURE plants operated in the vicinity of coral reefs, oyster beds and other acidification-vulnerable ecosystems that support livelihoods.

Plymouth Marine Laboratory aims to empower groups traditionally underrepresented in the climate movement and in academia by: a) fostering an equitable and inclusive organizational culture; and b) providing development opportunities to those from traditionally underrepresented groups, including students and early career researchers from developing countries (key objectives under the Social Responsibility pillar of our Strategic Plan 2020-25). Within SeaCURE, we envisage collaborations with developing country research institutes to build their scientists and students capacity to undertake locally-relevant research to optimize the benefits of SeaCURE deployment in their countries (e.g., environmental impact assessments; monitoring, reporting & verification of atmospheric CO2 removal).

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Mission Statement:

Plymouth Marine Laboratory is a world-leading marine research institute with a vision to realize a healthy and sustainable ocean through the delivery of impactful, cutting edge environmental and social science. We are based the South West of the UK but our activity is global. We have partnerships in more than 60 countries and with global bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We have particularly strong research collaborations and programs of work in the UK, the European Union, Southeast Asia, the Western Indian Ocean, India and Chile. The SeaCURE project is currently operating in the UK with a pilot plant in Weymouth and plans for a first commercial plant in the North Sea. The technology is scalable, and our intention is to achieve large-scale commercial deployment around the world.