Volume 77
Carbon sequestration benefits of deep-sea deposition of Sargassum
Authors
Franziska Elmer and Tremaine Bowman Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2024
Event: Proceedings of the Seventy-Seventh Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: Gosier
Country: Guadeloupe, French West Indies
Abstract
The Caribbean is highly impacted by both climate change and the recent massive increase in Sargassum inundations. Sargassum sequesters carbon dioxide from the surface ocean and potentially also directly from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Roughly 183 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) are sequestered as carbon inside each wet ton of Sargassum. When Sargassum decomposes on the beach or in landfills, it releases that carbon as methane (CH4) back into the atmosphere. Experiments and calculations done by Carbonwave showed that around 500 kg of CO2eq are released from a ton of Sargassum during this decomposition, making Sargassum a net emitter when left rotting on the beach or in landfills.