Marine Ecology: from problems to solutions

Dr Mar Fernández-Méndez, marine biogeochemist and algal ecologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute and leader of the Helmholtz Young Investigator Group SiDe-EFFECT.

Aquaculture

Macroalgae research

Biodiversity

In the middle of a climate crisis, we must continue gaining knowledge about the effects of global warming on fragile ecosystems such as the polar regions, while at the same time moving from knowledge to action seeking to apply or knowledge to find ways to mitigate climate change. The ocean already provides biological feedstocks for carbon-rich products that can substitute fossil-derived products, and it also contributes to carbon dioxide removal through its physico-chemical and biological carbon pumps. Micro- and macroalgae play a crucial role in carbon sequestration in the ocean. To significantly mitigate catastrophic climate change, the latest IPCC reports indicate that both a rapid reduction in current emissions and additional net carbon dioxide removal is needed.

The open ocean provides the space and the resources required to scale up algal production and natural blue carbon sequestration to the quantities required to defossilize industry and mitigate climate change. Open ocean afforestation through seaweed aquafarming combined with artificial upwelling can be used for long-term carbon sequestration in the deep sea through enhanced sinking or for sustainable product development to reduce emissions. Our research at AWI focuses on optimizing the methods to monitor, report and verify carbon dioxide removal  and assess its environmental impacts in the ocean, as well as to contribute to the development of a sustainable and efficient open ocean aquaculture industry.