Ocean-based Climate Solutions, Inc. www.ocean-based.com Santa Fe, NM 87501 505-231-7508 [email protected] All-Natural Biogeochemical CO2 Sequestration In Deep Ocean. Summary of Scientific Findings. Pump Design. Upwelling modeling, testing, data, and efficiency. Upwelling/Downwelling Estimated Annual Volumes. Downwelling Mechanics and Efficiencies. Nutrient Conversion and Net Carbon Sequestration From Upwelling. Dissolved Organic Carbon. Optimization: Projected Net CO2 Sequestered For Different Pumping Depths. Microbial Carbon Pump and Redfield Ratio. Safety Strategy. Environmental risk. CO2 Sequestration Estimate, Data Acquisition and Verification. Long-term Impact on Cumulative CO2 and Temperature Rise. Phased Installation and Cost Per Ton. Conclusion. References. Summary of Scientific Findings. • “…a new study from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) shows that the efficiency of the ocean's "biological carbon pump" has been drastically underestimated, with implications for future climate assessments. By taking account of the depth of the euphotic, or sunlit zone, the authors found that about twice as much carbon sinks into the ocean per year than previously estimated.” [1] • Mathematical analysis and fluid dynamic modeling concludes that upwelled deep water quickly mixes and remains in the sunlit zone above the thermocline where the nutrients accumulate to trigger a bloom. [2] • Modeling also demonstrates when the warm, salty surface water is pumped down the tube, it cools and becomes denser below 300m, then sinking by gravity as it mixes into the deeper ocean. [3] • Deep water contains more nutrients as well as higher levels of dissolved CO2 compared to the surface ocean. Water upwelled from below about 300m contains surplus phosphate, enabling a second phytoplankton bloom that absorbs more CO2 than originally contained in the upwelled seawater. [4] • “Our models indicate that induced downwelling may be ~3 to 102 times more efficient than bubbling air, and 104 to 106 times more efficient than fountain aerators, at oxygenating hypoxic bottom waters.” [5] • The upper ocean contains about twice the level of dissolved organic carbon as the mid ocean, suggesting downwelling will directly sequester this excess surface carbon. [6] • Microbes living in the mid and deep ocean efficiently convert dissolved organic carbon (DOC) into “recalcitrant DOC” – radiocarbon dated at 5,000 years. [7] • “…BGC-Argo…measure six additional properties in addition to pressure, temperature and salinity measured by Argo, to include oxygen, pH, nitrate, downwelling light, chlorophyll fluorescence and the optical backscattering coefficient. The purpose of this addition is to enable the monitoring of ocean biogeochemistry and health, and in particular, monitor major processes such as ocean deoxygenation, acidification and warming and their effect on phytoplankton, the main source of energy of marine ecosystems.” [8] Pump Design. Powered by ocean waves, our upwelling and downwelling pump technology [9] naturally amplifies ocean biogeochemical processes to store more CO2 in the deep ocean and counteract climate change. Each pump upwells nutrient-enriched seawater from 500-m to the sunlit surface, triggering a phytoplankton bloom which absorbs dissolved CO2. This CO2-enriched water is concurrently downwelled below 600-m and sequestered for 1000’s of years. Fig. 1. Sketch of upwelling/downwelling wave-powered pump and biogeochemical response. With the long tubes made from extra-strong nylon ripstop fabric spooled onto the buoy and valves, each pump is compact for shipping and deploys automatically when offloaded at sea. A 2-ton counterweight attached to the bottom of the downwelling tube provides the gravity-sinking force and keeps the fabric tubes oriented vertically once deployed. This weight (and attached tubes) sinks as the surface buoy slides off a passing wave, closing the top-mounted 1-way valve and efficiently forcing water down the tube. As the buoy rides up the next wave, this downwelled water is released while the 1-way valve at Fig. 2. CEO Philip Kithil with 1/3 scale prototype, December 2018. bottom of the upwelling tube closes, forcing water up the tube where it is released on the next wave cycle. a b c Fig 3. (a) Pump loaded onto deployment vessel, Morro Bay CA. (b) Design sketch of pump. (c) Buoy converted to raft-shape upon deployment. Upwelling modeling, testing, data, and efficiency. Mathematical analysis [2] by Professor Atmocean* Pump Efficient In Mixing Horizontal Spread of the “Cold Pool” at Isaac Ginis from the University of Because Water Is Released In Parcels Bottom of Mixed Layer From Gravity Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography in 2008 concluded: 1) When more-dense deep cold water R T1 h parcels are pumped into the warmer T3 surface layer, they sink and mix T2 becoming neutrally-buoyant, “piling-up” Confidential Confidential on top of the thermocline. Fig 4. Sketches of upwelling water parcels mixing above thermocline. *Atmocean is parent company. 2) Variations in wave height/period deliver variable flows – mimicking natural ocean upwelling processes. These conclusions indicate the nutrient-enriched deeper water will accumulate above the thermocline in the sunlit zone, achieving critical nutrient ratios needed to trigger and maintain a bloom. We documented wave-powered upwelling from 500 feet Test Results 12-11-05 Bermuda: depth in Bermuda in 2005, followed by our 2007 test off Atmocean's Wave-Driven Pump San Diego obtaining data showing one-way valve open- Brings Up Cold Water From 500' Deep close cycles combined with temperature data, which 23.0 3 22.5 gives a flow rate of 4.8 m per minute. 22.0 21.5 21.0 Comparing wave-driven upwelling flow rate to 20.5 20.0 theoretical gives upwelling pump efficiency of 73.3%. C. Degrees, 19.5 19.0 For downwelling, gravity-driven sinking of the heavy 18.5 bottom weight gives estimated efficiency of 94.9%. 18.0 12/11/05… 12/11/05… 12/11/05… 12/11/05… 12/11/05… 12/11/05… 12/11/05… 12/11/05… 12/11/05… Bottom Temp Inside Tube At Top Outside Tube At Top Surface Temp Fig. 5. Test data showing temperature change at top of upwelling tube – Bermuda Dec 2005. Fig. 6. Test data showing valve open/close cycle and temperature change at top of upwelling tube – San Diego, March 2007 Upwelling/Downwelling Estimated Annual Volumes Analysis of data from National Data Buoy Center (www.ndbc.noaa.gov) wave heights and wave periods from their buoy #51001 located 100nm north of Oahu Hawaii allows calculation of nominal annual pumped volumes. In the Atlantic, we use NDBC data from #41049, 300nm SSE of Bermuda. To estimate both upwelling and downwelling volumes, we cutoff waves over 3m height and disregard pumped volume from waves under 0.5m. Pacific waves deliver about 10% more upwelling volume annually than Atlantic waves. Nominal Pumped Volume (m3) Data Buoy 51001 - Hawaii 2016 2017 2018 Average Efficiency Annual Volume Upwelling 24,428,009 23,055,034 24,283,096 23,922,046 73.3% 17,545,907 Downwelling 24,428,009 23,055,034 24,283,096 23,922,046 94.9% 22,707,561 Table 1. Projected upwelling and downwelling annual volumes based on data from National Data Buoy Center #51001 north of Hawaii. Applying these estimated upwelling and downwelling volumes to nutrient stoichiometries at depth determines CO2 sequestration (see below). Downwelling Mechanics and Efficiencies. In 2017-18, we coordinated computational fluid dynamics downwelling studies by Sandia National Laboratories [3] which found density of downwelled surface water inside a tube became equal to external water density at ~300m depth, due to greater density (by cooling) of the downwelled water combined with its unchanged surface salinity-density. The mixing model is seen here for outflow at 1,000m depth: Figure 7. Modeling by Sandia National Laboratories of gravity-induced outflow mixing at 1,000m. A recent paper by David Koweek et.al. “Evaluating hypoxia alleviation through induced downwelling” [4] verified downwelling efficiency: “Our models indicate that induced downwelling may be ~3 to 102 times more efficient than bubbling air, and 104 to 106 times more efficient than fountain aerators, at oxygenating hypoxic bottom waters.” Nutrient Conversion and Net Carbon Sequestration From Upwelling Net C export via a dual bloom was hypothesized by University of Hawaii Professor David Karl et.al. in their iconic 2008 paper “Nitrogen fixation-enhanced carbon sequestration in low-nitrate, low-chlorophyll seascapes” [5]. Table 1 provides estimated volumes sequestered per m-3 upwelled, for depth-measured nutrient concentrations: Table 2. Copy of table 1 from [4]. Dissolved Organic Carbon. In 2010 Dennis Hansell et.al. published “Dissolved Organic Matter In The Ocean - A Controversy Stimulates New Insights” [6] suggesting vast ocean reservoirs of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), previously not well characterized, with levels of ~80 mmol/m-3 found in the upper ocean. Their abstract reads “Containing as much carbon as the atmosphere, marine dissolved organic matter is one of Earth’s major carbon reservoirs. With invigoration of scientific inquiries into the global carbon cycle, our ignorance of its role in ocean biogeochemistry became untenable. Fig. 8. Copy of Fig. 2 from [5] Rapid mobilization of relevant research two decades ago required the community to overcome early false leads, but subsequent progress in examining the global dynamics of this material has been steady. Continuous improvements in analytical skill coupled with global ocean hydrographic