First EPA-Permitted Ocean Alkalinity Trial Removes CO₂ Without Harming Marine Life
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has released preliminary findings from the first U.S. Environmental Protection Agency–permitted ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) field trial. The results, presented at the biennial Ocean Sciences Meeting in Glasgow, represent a significant step forward for marine carbon dioxide removal. What Happened In August 2025, the LOC-NESS (Locking Ocean Carbon in the Northeast Shelf and Slope) team conducted a six-hour dispersal of 65,000 liters of highly purified sodium hydroxide — a common water treatment chemical — into the surface waters of the Wilkinson Basin in the Gulf of Maine. A red tracer dye (Rhodamine Water Tracer) was released alongside it to track the alkalinity patch. ...