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Life Cycle Perspective-Based Modeling Assessment of Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement

Chonggang Yang¹, Ellias Y Feng^1,2

¹College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, P. R. China.

Environmental Science & Technology

|January 28, 2026

Summary

Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) can mitigate climate change, but its carbon removal effectiveness varies by technology and location. Careful assessment of carbon removal additionality, permanency, and leakage is crucial for accurate modeling.

Area of Science:

Climate Change Mitigation
Oceanography
Earth System Science

Background:

Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) is a proposed strategy to remove atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and combat climate change.
Various OAE technologies exist, including ocean liming and enhanced weathering, each with potential environmental impacts.

Purpose of the Study:

To model the life cycles and environmental impacts of four OAE technologies.
To investigate the effectiveness of OAE in reducing atmospheric CO2 under different scenarios.
To assess the potential for carbon leakage and identify optimal storage locations.

Main Methods:

Utilized an Earth system model to simulate OAE technologies from 2030 to 2099.
Evaluated four OAE types: ocean liming, accelerated limestone weathering, mineral carbonation-ocean liming, and coastal enhanced weathering.
Analyzed carbon emissions from mining, processing, transportation, and dumping associated with OAE.

Main Results:

Carbon emissions from OAE activities can offset sequestration benefits, with some technologies failing to reduce atmospheric CO2.
Coastal enhanced weathering demonstrated the highest carbon removal effectiveness.
The North Atlantic showed the greatest potential for storing OAE-captured CO2.
All OAE simulations resulted in oceanic carbon leakage into the atmosphere, particularly when powered by clean energy.

Conclusions:

The net carbon removal effectiveness of OAE technologies is highly dependent on operational emissions and energy sources.
Coastal enhanced weathering is the most promising OAE technology for carbon removal.
Robust OAE assessment requires careful consideration of additionality, permanency, and leakage.
Oceanic carbon leakage is an inherent factor in OAE that must be accounted for in climate mitigation strategies.

Keywords:

carbon dioxide removal carbon sequestration enhanced weathering negative emission technology ocean alkalinity enhancement

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