| Porthole 19 May 22

SCIENTISTS are pushing for an ocean version of the International Space Station named the ‘North Atlantic Carbon Observatory’.

The initiative was discussed at a science conference in Halifax in Canada this week, CBC reports.

“The North Atlantic Carbon Observatory is a structure that allows nations to invest in ocean observation as a consortium, the way they do in the International Space Station or with some international telescopes,” said Ocean Frontier Institute Chief Executive Officer & Science Director Anya Waite.

The North Atlantic, and Labrador Sea, off the east coast of Canada, are in particular some of the largest carbon sinks on the planet, where carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is absorbed and stored deep in the ocean.

Understanding its role in mitigating greenhouse gases is behind the proposed carbon observatory, and one of the themes at an Ocean Frontier Institute conference underway in Halifax this week.