OceanNETs produced 71 deliverables and published 65 scientific papers so far, including contributions to the Guide to Best Practices in Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement Research.
Findings from OceanNETs have been incorporated into the “Cross-sectoral perspectives” chapter of the Sixth Assessment Report of the IPCC.
OceanNETs outcomes were shared through policy events and outreach materials that engaged decision-makers and the wider public.
Four policy briefs were created, which:
i) recommend that decision-makers should adopt a broader perspective on governance and explain the need for an extended governance framework for marine CDR,
ii) explains why ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) is among the most promising ocean-based NETs, and provide detailed insights into realistic OAE deployment scenarios,
based on iii) ocean liming and iv) electrochemical brine splitting. In a final synthesis report the complex results of OceanNETs are summarised in an accessible format for researchers across different disciplines.
It documents key findings and refers to deliverables and OceanNETs publications that provide deeper insight into the underlying data, methods, and analyses.
During OceanNETs, approximately 12,000 people were surveyed to examine public perceptions of a portfolio of ocean-based NETs.
The surveys and deliberative workshops in several countries revealed low public awareness of ocean-based NETs, with acceptability depending on perceptions of naturalness, risk and governance transparency.
Governance and legal analyses have revealed a diversified and partially overlapping regulatory landscape.
With regard to ocean-based NETs, regulatory gaps have been identified and guiding principles for responsibly expanding governance frameworks have been proposed.
Economic and policy modelling explored cost trends and incentives, highlighting that deployments depend more on governance clarity than on cost alone.
For ocean-based NET options to become feasible, policymakers should create incentives for near-term deployment of ocean-based NETs while establishing a rigorous basis for robust assessments of the associated economic costs.
Two novel experimental mesocosm studies were conducted to investigate impacts of OAE on the marine ecosystem and chemistry, yielding unique measurement data.
These data revealed potential benefits and possible ecological risks.
The observed effects on the ecosystem were minor, suggesting that OAE could be designed to minimize adverse effects.
The experimental data will likely be further exploited for cross-comparisons or syntheses with results from other related experimental studies in the future.
A key exploitable OceanNETs result is the provision of realistic future scenarios derived from in-depth case studies, for which life cycle assessments, economic growth and energy projections, and stakeholder information have been combined.
Two case studies examined “ocean liming” and “electrochemical salt splitting” in particular detail.
These case scenarios are an exclusive outcome that have been integrated into the project's model studies, but can also be leveraged and implemented in future analyses.
Computer simulations using regional high-resolution models and Earth system models provided valuable results of the CDR potential, mainly of OAE but also for combinations of ocean-based and land-based NETs.
The case scenarios of ocean liming were used for a joint multi-model ensemble analysis.
Simulation results show how CDR efficiency of OAE can vary in time and space, and that it is sensitive to CO2 emission pathways.
Specific model analyses addressed impacts of OAE on the marine ecosystem, documenting potentially small but significant changes in plankton composition and temporal delays in the development of algal blooms.
