It is now well known that planting more trees can help heal the environment. However, the catch is that only so many trees can be planted. Thus, Professor Kristen Davis and her team at the UCI Coastal Dynamics Laboratory have taken the dive into our oceans to assess the environmental benefits of nurturing other types of flora – specifically kelp.
While seaweed refers to several thousand different species of macro-algae that grow in the ocean, kelp is a subgroup of some of the larger varieties that grow near the ocean’s surface. Giant kelp that grows in beds off the California coast has some of the highest growth rates – up to 2 feet per day during peak growing season in April and May.
In addition to the supply of kelp being abundant and easily regenerative, there is a growing interest in understanding if kelp can be used to effectively remove carbon dioxide from the upper ocean and atmosphere. By absorbing a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions, the oceans are our greatest ally against climate change. It should also be noted that giant kelp does not contribute to red tide, or the overgrowth of algae, that is harmful to people and aquatic life. On the contrary, giant kelp may inhibit red tide by consuming nitrogen that harmful algae would need to grow. By consuming carbon dioxide to grow, kelp helps reduce ocean acidification which is harmful to shellfish and coral reefs.
In short, kelp is a natural solution for removing part of the extra nitrogen and carbon dioxide generated by human activities, which, if left to accumulate, would be detrimental to ocean ecosystems and contribute to global climate change. In addition, kelp is being studied as a possible biodegradable replacement for some harmful plastics that we use today.
However, with every bright future there is an underlying shadow. The question used to be: “How does the ocean affect seaweed growth?” But now, researchers must ask: “How might seaweed growth affect the ocean?”
How could this affect ecosystems if seaweed takes up more space and provides more shade? By creating more drag, could it affect ocean currents? What spatial conflicts with ships and fauna could there be? The benefits of kelp are clear, but how can we be sure that in trying to solve one problem we do not cause several more?
These questions are exactly what Professor Kristen Davis and her team at the UCI Coastal Dynamics Laboratory seek to answer. Off the coasts of Santa Barbara, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, Professor Davis and her team collect data to create biochemical ocean models for predicting phytoplankton growth and forecasting the growth of macro-algae. With funding from the Advanced Projects Research Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), their research will allow kelp farmers to deduce the best planting times, planting depths, and harvest times for the optimal amount of seaweed: not too much nor too little.
Why U.C. Yourself at UCI
Professor Davis discovered that she had a knack for Environmental Engineering Sciences while earning her B.S. at the University of Florida in 2000. When asked why she chose to focus on sea kelp, she described how she had always felt at home on the oceans.
“When I was growing up in Florida,” Professor Davis recalls, “my father would always take me out sailing when he could.”
She sought a career where she could pursue her passion for the ocean while addressing some major environmental problems. After completing both a Master’s and a Ph.D in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, she came to southern California to find like-minded people in ocean-focused research. Being able to study kelp allows her to take the best of both worlds: solving real life problems as an engineer while also feeding her passion for the ocean. Professor Davis described how she finds pride in her work and how her research could change the world. With further research and modeling, the Coastal Dynamics Laboratory will be providing solutions to help address global climate change and preserve fragile and beautiful coastal ecosystems.
“I am very proud of how hands-on my research is, being able to conduct research that will really change the world,” Professor Davis states, “it’s great to find the support here at UCI”.
