The Ocean Carbon Sink: Facts, Fictions, and Opportunities with Dr. Marina Lévy

Can whales help mitigate human-induced climate change? What about mangroves, kelp forests, or the trillions of microscopic organisms drifting through the ocean and capturing carbon through photosynthesis?

The ocean absorbs about a quarter of the CO₂ we emit, so it seems natural to imagine that ocean life is doing the work much as forests do on land. But the real story is more complex.

The New England Aquarium’s Lowell Lecture Series and the Lorenz Center of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at MIT present the John H. Carlson Lecture, featuring oceanographer Marina Lévy on an exploration of the ocean’s extraordinary carbon machine. From forests on land to underwater forests, from microscopic phytoplankton to the web of marine life and the global ocean circulation, we will follow carbon through the ocean to discover what actually makes it one of the planet’s great carbon sinks and why that matters as the ocean warms and its circulation changes.

And if we understand how this remarkable machine works, could we help it absorb even more CO₂? The lecture will explore some of the emerging ideas for using the ocean to remove carbon from the atmosphere, along with their promises, limitations, and unanswered questions.

This free lecture is made possible by a generous gift from MIT alumnus John H. Carlson to the Lorenz Center and is presented in partnership with the New England Aquarium and the Lowell Institute.

All are invited to arrive early to explore exhibits by MIT students and climate scientists in the Simons Theatre lobby. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

About Dr. Marina Lévy

Dr. Marina Lévy is an oceanographer and senior scientist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), based at LOCEAN–IPSL at Sorbonne University in Paris, France. She is currently director of the Ocean Institute of the Sorbonne University Alliance.

Her research explores how ocean circulation, climate and marine ecosystems interact, from the dynamics of phytoplankton to the ocean carbon cycle and its response to human-induced climate change. She has contributed to understanding how physical processes shape marine ecosystems and influence the ocean carbon cycle.

Marina Lévy is also strongly engaged at the interface between science and society. She leads the scientific coordination of the international Starfish Barometer, an annual assessment of the state of the ocean, and contributes to efforts to bring ocean science into public debate and policy.