The ocean is heavily illuminated
The ocean is heavily illuminated
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Do we know what is the ecological impact of artificial lights in the ocean?
Lights produced by the squid fishery in the oceanic realm
Lights produced by the squid fishery in the oceanic realm
Remote sensing view of the illumination promoted by the squid fishery in the Pacific Ocean
Remote sensing view of the illumination promoted by the squid fishery in the Pacific Ocean
This fleet is really having a global impact
We know that natural light have a positive effect on the ocean by promoting periodic blooms of zooplankton transporting carbon to the deep-sea. Could we use this natural process to transport carbon downward in the ocean?
We know that natural light have a positive effect on the ocean by promoting periodic blooms of zooplankton transporting carbon to the deep-sea. Could we use this natural process to transport carbon downward in the ocean?
(see the short video below)
Ocean Lighting as a tool for marine Carbon Dioxide Removal
Ocean Lighting as a tool for marine Carbon Dioxide Removal
Oral communication presented at the "Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal emerging views and challenges", 56th International Liège Colloquium on ocean dynamics. Liège, Belgium, 26-30 May, 2025.
Summary
The oceans are heavily illuminated mainly due to the squid fisheries. This huge illumination is a global feature, and it could be observed from remote sensing of the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans. However, the effect of this illumination for marine organisms, especially the feeding, metabolism, and growth of plankton, nekton, and large predators is unknown. Also, the impacts of this huge illumination upon the food web structure are not studied. As most of ocean illumination is carried out in international waters (outside the 200 miles of the Exclusive Economic Zones) control of these fleets and their effects and impacts are also in a legal loophole. However, there an important knowledge about the effect of the lunar light on plankton communities and their effect in carbon export and sequestration in the ocean. Diel vertical migrants (DVMs) in the ocean (large zooplankton and micronekton) promote a top-down effect upon epipelagic meso- and microzooplankton which decreases during the days around the full moon. Here, DVMs remain deeper (below 80-100 m depth) releasing epipelagic zooplankton from predation and promoting a bloom during this short anti-predatory window (APW). It has been proposed to enlarge this APW in order to increase the efficiency of the biological carbon pump (Hernández-León, 2023) promoting a new procedure for marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR). Thus, here we seek to answer (1) what is the ecological impact of artificial lights in the ocean?, (2) could we promote a bloom of zooplankton enlarging the natural APW promoted by the lunar cycle?, and (3) could we use this procedure as a natural method for mCDR avoiding the need to dump tons of substances (e.g., iron, lime, slags,…) as used for fertilization or alkalinization in the ocean? Carbon dioxide is increasing in the atmosphere promoting the faster environmental change of the Earth´s recent history. Cutting emissions will not suffice to slow-down the planet temperature and mCDR procedures should be developed during the next years as climate change is now running. These methods cannot promote undesirable impacts in ocean ecosystems. Thus, the study of the effect of light will provide the necessary information to manage large fisheries (e.g., squids) or to use them as a mCDR procedure properly managed in combination to robotic fleets (e.g, saildrones). The ocean lighting procedure will change the paradigm of mCDR in the oceans as this procedure is based on a natural process.
Carbon Dioxide Removal and Emissions Offsetting
Climate change is the main problem facing humanity and the planet. The massive emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere following the Industrial Revolution is driving the most rapid environmental and social changes in Earth's recent history. A significant and urgent transformation of our economy is required. The use of renewable energy is the immediate solution to stabilize global temperature. However, even if we stop emitting CO2, a significant amount of this gas will still remain in the atmosphere. An important amount of greeenhouse gases will have to be artificially removed from the atmosphere if we want to maintain or reduce the planet's temperature. Furthermore, some sectors of the economy will find quite difficult the transition to renewable energy (e.g., maritime and air transport), so these emissions will need to be offset with specific technologies. The oceans have the greatest potential for storing carbon, as they represent 70% of the Earth's surface, but also because carbon could be exported and sequestered in the deep-sea, retaining large quantities of CO2 for hundreds or even thousands of years. Therefore, several marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) technologies have been proposed, such as iron fertilization, alkalization, artificial upwelling, and ocean lighting. These negative emissions technologies, currently being tested in parallel with renewable energies, should lead our planet and our society toward a sustainable environment.
Relevance for the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands should reduce its emissions to allow a balance between our greenhouse gases release to the atmosphere and the carbon storage on land and the deep ocean (Net-Zero). It is mandatory to promote mCDR technologies in order to offset emissions, but also to avoid the taxes imposed by the European Union for pollution. For instance, the ports, airports, and industry should reduce but also to offset emissions. If no action is taken, the result will be that many companies operating in our islands will relocate to neighbor countries (e.g., Morocco) to avoid EU taxes. The Canary Islands are one of the best places in the world to conduct and implement this mCDR research, avoiding additional costs for our economy. Its application could be carried out in a relatively short period. The Government of the Canary Islands should lead this research by implementing specific projects and negotiating with the EU to offset these emissions. The development of this research will result in significant cost savings for our economy.
Santiago Hernández-León is a biological oceanographer at the “Instituto de Oceanografía y Cambio Global (IOCAG)” in the Canary Islands. He obtained the degree in biology in 1980 and received a Ph.D in Oceanography in 1986 from the Universidad de La Laguna (Canary Islands). He is professor (chair) of zoology in the Marine Sciences School at the “Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria”. He was Vice-Dean of this Faculty from 1994 to 1998, and Dean from 2004 to 2005, and at present Director of the IOCAG. His research interest is related to the effect of climate on the ecology and physiology of plankton communities. He is working on the role of micro-, mesoplankton, and micronekton in the oceanic carbon flux from the Arctic to Antarctica, but he is especially interested in the assessment of the biological carbon pump and how the ocean is exporting and sequestering carbon. He is also interested in the study of trophic cascades and how they affect the ocean biogeochemistry. At present, he works on the development of a new technology to remove and sequester carbon dioxide in the deep ocean.
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¿Questions?
Send an e-mail to obtain more information about the Ocean Lighting project. See e-mail address at the end of the video above.
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