Infrared Spectroscopy in Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement

Our oceans, which act as a natural thermostat, contain up to 50 times as much carbon dioxide as the atmosphere (Gagern, Antonius, et al., 2022) Consequently, despite significant efforts, merely lowering CO₂ emissions will not be effective. Ocean alkalinity enhancement is the method of introducing alkaline materials to the ocean to speed up the process of absorbing CO₂ from the atmosphere and reducing ocean acidity. Although there are many different alkaline substances that can be used, calcium and magnesium carbonates and silicates are the most preferred. The issue with OAE is that insufficient information or resources are available to fully comprehend how alkaline materials evolve and react with water over time, how fast the reactions take place, and how the by-products affect the biota. One way to possibly resolve this concern is to use infrared spectroscopy to monitor the reactions of these chemicals and try to determine what materials are most suitable in different situations.