Seawater carbonate chemistry and biogeochemistry and composition of a phytoplankton community

The dramatic impacts of global climate change have driven marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) innovation, including ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE), in an attempt to keep global warming under 2 °C. We experimented to assess the impacts of brucite-inspired alkalinity addition (BIAA) as an OAE approach on the carbonate chemistry, biogeochemistry, and composition of the Santa Barbara Channel phytoplankton community sourced from a spring upwelling event. The BIAA treatment used MgCl2 * 6H2O and NaOH to yield a total alkalinity (TA) concentration of 3000 µmol/kg, in contrast with the untreated seawater controls (TA = 2300 µmol/kg).