Prof. Catriona Hurd1
1Institute For Marine And Antarctic Studies, Hobart, Australia
Carbon sequestration is the secure storage of carbon-containing molecules for >100 years, and in the context of Carbon Dioxide Removal for climate mitigation, the origin of this CO₂ is from the atmosphere. On land, trees globally sequester substantial amounts of carbon in woody biomass and soil, and an similar role for seaweeds in ocean carbon sequestration has been suggested. The purposeful expansion of natural seaweed beds and aquaculture systems, including into the open ocean (ocean afforestation), has been proposed as a method of increasing carbon sequestration and use in carbon trading and offset schemes. However, to verify whether CO₂ fixed by seaweeds through photosynthesis leads to carbon sequestration is extremely complex in the marine environment compared to terrestrial systems, because of the need to consider the comparatively rapid turn-over of seaweed biomass, trace the fate of carbon via particulate and dissolved organic carbon pathways in dynamic coastal waters, and the key role of atmosphere-ocean CO₂ exchange. I will discuss the use of Forensic Carbon Accounting as an approach for assessing the utility of seaweeds for carbon dioxide removal.
Presentation Slides – Catriona Hurd
Biography:
Catriona Hurd is a seaweed eco-physiologist who graduated with a PhD from Queen’s University of Belfast (1991), and worked in Canada (1991-94, UBC), New Zealand (1995-2013 Uni Otago) and IMAS (2013 – to date). Her research focuses on the environmental regulation of seaweed growth by carbon and nitrogen supply, light, temperature, water motion and pH.
She was lead author of Hurd et al. (2014) Seaweed Ecology and Physiology (Cambridge University Press).
