Adam Subhas (PhD ’17), an oceanographer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, is at the forefront of a controversial climate intervention: adding alkaline substances to the ocean to counteract acidification and help capture atmospheric carbon. Last August, Subhas and his team pumped 16,200 gallons of sodium hydroxide into the Gulf of Maine—the final phase of a study that could reshape how we address both global warming and the rapid acidification threatening marine ecosystems worldwide.
The experiment, part of a project called LOC-NESS, reflects a broader shift in scientific attitudes toward geoengineering as emissions reductions alone prove insufficient to prevent catastrophic warming.