Offshore kelp cultivation as a carbon sink

Kelp absorbs vast amounts of Co2 through photosynthesis to create biomass and grow.

This carbon is sequestered forever when the kelp dies and is buried in the deep ocean either in sediments or as dissolved organic carbon below the -1000 m water level. Kelp cultivation is an underutilised nature-based solution that can help mitigate against climate change whilst also having numerous benefits for biodiversity, ocean health (de-acidification and oxygenation of waters), local communities and resilience. However, there are still knowledge gaps in how much and at what rate kelp (wild or cultivated) is sequestered and adds to the stock of blue carbon in the ocean floor.

This 4-year study will use Kelp Blue’s pilot (and subsequent commercial size) giant kelp (a first of its kind) in offshore Namibia to undertake field trials in order to better understand the capacity of offshore giant kelp cultivation to sequester carbon.

Start Date: 01/05/2022
End Date: 31/05/2026

Contact point: Samantha Deane – samantha.deane@kelpforestfoundation.org