The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) has granted funding to three ambitious projects to improve our understanding of how marine organisms facilitate the storage of vast amounts of carbon in our oceans.
The NERC is the guardian of UK natural science, and the three projects will feature a wide range of UK universities and research institutes. The project will also see some major collaborations with international research partners.
The research will focus on how climate changes and models impact how marine organisms work to store carbon in our oceans.
According to BIO-Carbon Champion Adrian Martin:
“With countries striving for net-zero carbon and debate ongoing over whether we can use the ocean to remove excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the need to understand how the ocean stores carbon has never been stronger and we know that marine life plays an important role. Partnering with the Future Marine Research Infrastructure (FMRI) project, these three exciting projects will use an ambitious combination of research vessels and marine robots. Together they will deliver fundamental insights into how ocean organisms will help it continue to store carbon as the climate changes.”
