“Carbon in the Ocean is Weirdly Complicated”
Photos by Lucia MacQuarrie
Determination and optimism are atypical traits for oceanographers it seems, a career group more often associated with being ‘purveyors of doom’.
Listen to this engaging 26-minute clip from Lindsay Bird’s Atlantic Voice podcast tracking the mission of Migloo and what is sparking optimism for a scientific team of oceanographers working on ACOP in the “weirdly complicated” world of measuring carbon in the North Atlantic ocean.
Atlantic Voice – https://bit.ly/3lXd7Wm
Or, for a quicker thumbnail sketch on the complexities of monitoring ocean carbon and why it matters – oceans are a vastly important carbon sink, absorbing the most carbon on the planet – anywhere from one-quarter to one-third of all the carbon pumped into the atmosphere – read this CBC piece https://bit.ly/41g5hY6
Turns out that the Labrador Sea is a particularly star area at absorbing carbon among the world’s oceans, and an international team of scientists is using ocean drone technology to study why as part of the Atlantic Carbon Observatory Pilot (ACOP) program. Canada’s Dalhousie University, Memorial University and the Holyrood Subsea Observatory Station are part of the ACOP pilot, which runs until mid-2023.
For more on the ACOP timeline and Memorial University’s (MU) Gliders program –
Photo by Russ Dawson
For more on the Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Holyrood Ocean Observatory –
https://www.smartatlantic.ca/https://bit.ly/3ErnVTe
And, here’s a short YouTube video where you may watch MU’s Glider (underwater drone) in action –https://bit.ly/41lkLKg
Neighbourhoods as Agents of Change
From our past blog posts, Friends4Trees4Life Readers might know already that we are fond of, and believe in, the Margaret Mead quote – “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Andre Mayer writes this piece on Agents of Change for the CBC. “A small neighbourhood in Toronto has built a program to help residents reduce their household emissions. Could their grassroots approach become a template for the rest of the country?”
We are inspired to learn about “the Pocket” and hope you will be too! Mayer’s article reminds us of our personal spheres of influence and potential for climate action – “According to Natural Resources Canada, buildings —including our homes — account for about 18 per cent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions.” (CBC: https://bit.ly/3xI7gH6)
Mayer shares that this past December, “Pocket” neighbours gathered to celebrate one of their fellow homeowner’s milestone achievement – for the first time, neighbour Paul Dowsett’s house began “..producing zero greenhouse gas emissions.” Celebrating and drawing inspiration from fellow Canadians “being the change they wish to see in the world” (and channeling Mahatma Gandhi).
Photo by Russ Dawson
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