The Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement Model Intercomparison Project (OAEMIP)

Through coordinated multi-model studies, the Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement Model Intercomparison Project (OAEMIP) aims to deepen our understanding of how OAE’s efficiency for large-scale carbon removal varies, depending on the location and seasonal timing of OAE. This project is supported by funding from Carbon to Sea and Google.

The lack of comparability across existing OAE model experiments is currently one of the biggest challenges scientists face in understanding and communicating the potential efficacy of OAE. While early research suggests OAE is an effective ocean-based carbon removal (oCDR) approach, various models can disagree on how efficient OAE is. Differences between the models, as well as the experiment designs simulating OAE, make data comparison between projects difficult. This ultimately hinders research and slows responsible development of high quality carbon credit markets.

Coordinated multi-model studies, commonly called model intercomparison projects, are a common approach to assessing model uncertainty. They can be used to explore the simulated range of model behaviours; to isolate the strengths and weaknesses of different models in a controlled setting; and to interpret, through idealized experiments, inter-model differences. Carefully designed experiments can also offer a way to identify model shortcomings and areas to prioritize for model improvement.

Carbon to Sea and Google are funding a three-year, two-tiered research project using standard methods for global-scale OAE modeling experiments. The goal of this work is to set a high standard for scientific rigor in the emerging OAE field; provide more certainty about the efficiency of OAE in order to encourage greater investment and collaboration to support future research endeavors; improve public license and market confidence in OAE; and enable early movers to more confidently participate in emerging credit markets.