Blue Carbon Model
Seaweed aquaculture offers significant environmental and economic benefits, including improving water quality, supporting marine biodiversity, and reducing ocean acidification. While its direct carbon sequestration potential is limited, seaweed can help mitigate climate change by replacing carbon-intensive products like plastics and fertilizers. With continued research and innovation, seaweed farming could become a valuable component of global climate and sustainability strategies.
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Subject Tags
- Aquaculture
- Climate mitigation
About
TNC and Scitech Environmental Consulting released a global model that allows the user to enter seaweed farm and product information to estimate kelp production, associated farm emissions, the potential for in-water marine carbon sequestration and nutrient removal, and the amount of carbon emissions avoided through chosen seaweed replacement products. Aligning with previous reports, the model shows how farming seaweed can help with carbon emissions reductions goals when used as a replacement for more carbon-intensive products, depending on market prices and demand.
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Read TNC's perspective on nature.org on how this model could help the seaweed aquaculture industry maximize its climate benefits.