Data overwhelmingly confirms that rising greenhouse gas emissions are locking us into a scenario of destructive climate chaos, which is motivating scientists and companies to invent ambitious carbon capture solutions.
One concept from Seafields Solutions looks to utilize some unlikely real estate by developing a giant seaweed farm in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean capable of capturing a gigatonne of carbon dioxide annually.
This England-founded company aims to be on the frontlines of the “ocean-based agricultural revolution” by scaling the farm to 60,000-square-kilometres within the North Atlantic gyre, where it will swirl around and largely stay in place.
In an interview with The Weather Network, John Auckland, Director and Co-Founder of Seafields Solutions, explained that not only is removing carbon from the atmosphere an urgent issue to mitigate severe impacts from climate change, but the seaweed can be used to create sustainable products like biofuel and bioplastic.
Sargassum is a type of seaweed that was chosen by the company based on its high capacity to store carbon in its biomass, free-floating nature, and ability to double in size every two weeks.
Once the sargassum is grown to a certain size it will be harvested and compressed into bales that are destined for the bottom of the ocean. Seafields Solutions refers to these bales as “carbon batteries” because once they are sunk, the carbon that is trapped within them will remain at the bottom of the ocean and out of the atmosphere for thousands of years.