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_Brandobaris_ t1_j94f7mh wrote

Reply to comment by cuddly_carcass in MIT team makes a case for direct carbon capture from seawater, not air by MotorDrive

Sure, the ocean absolutely needs the carbon. But I think the point of this is that the surface area of the ocean is so much larger than the rest of the surface area of the Earth and that the infusion of CO2 into the ocean is so significant that pulling it out of the ocean water is a lot easier than pulling it out of the air. The decarbonization of the air is done through a mass decarbonization of the water. Without a lot of understanding of the thermal dynamics of transport it’s very difficult to explain. I’m not trying to say that anyone who doesn’t understand is an idiot, it is just the opportunity of understanding.

This isn’t rocket science, it is so much fucking more difficult.

Edit grammar and clarity. And to be sure I’m not trying to shit on anyone.

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Agreeable-Meat1 t1_j9527ar wrote

>The decarbonization of the air is done through a mass decarbonization of the water.

But how? Does the ocean itself absorb carbon? And if so, does it have a natural resting point with an osmosis like process that will draw in more carbon naturally if we lower the available.levels?

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Gumbercleus t1_j952qwu wrote

The ocean does absorb carbon, and in doing so becomes more acidic. This is (part of) the process currently killing/bleaching coral reefs.

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Nick-Uuu t1_j9672wa wrote

Yes it reaches an equilibrium with the atmosphere, same way a sodastream works

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Cum_on_doorknob t1_j96twqw wrote

People have answered, but just for some more points. Our blood is a salt solution, the ph is regulated by CO2. Your brain will set your respiratory rate to determine how much CO2 you will expel or retain in your body to keep its acid base balance.

Ocean acidity is a huge problem since we’ve started pumping CO2 into the atmosphere, possibly could be more damaging than the temperature increases.

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