The TRITON: a Fundamental Tool for the Blue Carbon Credit System
Carbon sequestration is the most promising defense against the climate crisis. It is the process by which carbon dioxide is pulled from the atmosphere and stored in “carbon sinks” (environments that absorb more carbon than they emit). The largest and most productive carbon sink is the ocean, particularly, its coastal ecosystems: marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses. “Blue” carbon—the carbon dioxide contained in these coastal ocean ecosystems—is the key to a healthier planet. How can we systematically and effectively harness this natural phenomenon to make impactful and lasting change? Through mitigation activities that harness, reforest, or create coastal carbon sinks. How then do we measure success of these mitigation activities? Through monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of blue carbon credits.
MRV is a multistep process that measures and verifies the amount of greenhouse gas emissions reduced, prevented, or negated by a mitigation activity. These verified measurements are quantified and administered as carbon credits. One carbon credit is equal to one ton of carbon dioxide and is treated as a permit to produce an equivalent amount of carbon emissions. The owner of the credit can use it to offset their own greenhouse gas production or can trade/sell it to another company or country for the same use. This carbon credit system requires a reliable and trusted framework for assessing the output value of mitigation activities. Most of the MRV conducted to date has focused on land-based carbon sinks, yet, we now know that “blue” forests (seagrasses, mangroves, and marshes) have far more carbon sequestration potential than terrestrial forests. Unfortunately, these coastal ecosystems are more complex and harder to monitor and measure—making data scarce and understanding limited. Fortunately, the TRITON is here to help change that.
To measure marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) in coastal ecosystems and translate that removal to blue carbon credits we must be able to first measure the storage and release of CO2 in these environments. The TRITON—an autonomous underwater and surface vehicle (AUSV)—can be outfitted with customizable payloads to achieve understanding of these submerged ecosystems. Through the integration of carbon parameter sensors, the TRITON can collect consistent blue carbon cycle measurements. This, combined with other in-situ water chemistry measurements collected by the TRITON, can paint a more-detailed picture of the flow of carbon in these environments. Beyond dissolved gas and chemical data, the TRITON’s multibeam sonar system can produce high resolution bathymetric maps of these blue forests and capture the abundance, distribution, and classification of sea plants. Numerous TRITONs can work in tandem, with respective autonomous missions, to collect persistent data and enrich our understanding of blue carbon flow and storage. This understanding will allow more reliable quantification of said storage and can provide the framework for a trusted and actionable mCDR platform and blue carbon credit system. Not only can the TRITON serve as the primary and foundational tool for this system—it has no carbon output of its own and is fully wind and solar powered. How’s that for practicing what you preach?
