This episode of Plan Sea was recorded live at the Ocean Visions Biennial Summit 2025, and features conversations with experts from Ocean Visions, UArctic, and WHOI to discuss their work in the ocean-climate nexus. Host Anna Madlener is joined again by special co-host, Danny Gawlowski, Carbon to Sea’s Senior Manager of Communications and Policy. Listen to Part One of Plan Sea’s coverage of the Ocean Vision Biennial here.

Guests on this episode include: 

• Nikhil Neelakantan, Senior Program Officer at Ocean Visions
• Marianne Hagen, Co-lead of Seabed Curtain Project at UArctic Frozen Arctic Conservation Network
• Kilaparti (Rama) Ramakrishna, Director of Marine Policy Center and Senior Advisor to the President on Ocean and Climate Policy at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• David Koweek, Chief Scientist at Ocean Visions

Plan Sea is a semi-weekly podcast exploring ocean-based climate solutions, brought to you by the Carbon to Sea Initiative & the American University Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal.

This episode of Plan Sea was recorded live at the Ocean Visions Biennial Summit 2025, and features conversation with Ocean Visions CEO Brad Ack and other attendees to discuss their work in ocean-based carbon dioxide removal (oCDR). Host Anna Madlener is joined by a special co-host, Danny Gawlowski, Carbon to Sea’s Senior Manager of Communications and Policy.

Guests on this episode include: 

• Brad Ack, CEO of Ocean Visions
• Marc von Keitz, Director at The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment
• Mariam Swaleh, Assistant Registrar of Research and Grants at Technical University of Mombasa, Team Lead at Ocean-Climate Innovation Hub Kenya, and OCI Fellow at the Global Ecosystem of Ocean Solutions
• Lily Schacht, Senior Carbon Removal Verification Engineer at 350Solutions
• Meg Chadsey, Carbon Specialist at Washington Sea Grant

Plan Sea is a semi-weekly podcast exploring ocean-based climate solutions, brought to you by the Carbon to Sea Initiative & the American University Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal.

In this edition of Plan Sea, hosts Anna Madlener and Wil Burns are joined by Drs. Sara Seck and Neil Craik to discuss the current governance and public funding landscape for ocean-based carbon dioxide removal (oCDR) research and innovation in Canada. They focus particularly on jurisdictional challenges in Nova Scotia, related to an increase in oCDR R&D in the province over recent years, and discuss broadly how to strengthen future policymaker and public engagement.

Sara Seck is a Professor of Law at Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Law, serving as the Yogis and Keddy Chair in Human Rights Law and the Director of the Marine & Environmental Law Institute. Dr. Seck sheds light on the complex and overlapping jurisdiction of land and ocean rights in Canada. She shares insights for oCDR stakeholders seeking to navigate this landscape to address permitting and other governance issues in coordination with the federal Canadian government, provincial governments, and First Nations leadership. 

Neil Craik is a Professor at the University of Waterloo, with appointments to the Basillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) and the School of Environment, Enterprise, and Development. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and Co-Lead of the Environment and Resources Research Cluster at the BSIA. Dr. Craik discusses legislation and public funding opportunities that can help support oCDR initiatives in Canada. He also explains current procurement strategies for carbon credits across both the public and private sectors, and how oCDR can work towards compliance to access this market in the future. 

During the episode, the Plan Sea guests and hosts consider the implications of good governance and policy on advancing the development and funding of oCDR initiatives. The oCDR field is reaching a pivotal moment, with many research projects now moving towards real-world field trials that will answer key scientific questions but also raise new challenges for navigating existing and emerging legislation. Doubling-down on public engagement and unlocking new funding opportunities will be increasingly important for advancing oCDR activities in Canada and elsewhere.

ACRONYMS / CONCEPTS:

• CDR: Carbon Dioxide Removal 
• mCDR: Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal 
• MRV: Measurement, Reporting, and Verification 
• BBNJ Agreement: Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction
• TCA: Transforming Climate Action Research Program

Plan Sea is a semi-weekly podcast exploring ocean-based climate solutions, brought to you by the Carbon to Sea Initiative & the American University Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal.

In this episode of Plan Sea, hosts Anna Madlener and Wil Burns are joined by several guests to discuss new initiatives to improve data management and transparency in the carbon dioxide removal (CDR) industry. Jacki Long is an ocean scientist and co-founder of Submarine Scientific, a scientific consulting company focused on ocean modeling, expert verification support, and system wide strategy development for ocean-based carbon dioxide removal (oCDR). Jacki joins the Plan Sea hosts to discuss Submarine’s work pioneering a new initiative to standardize emerging data from ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) field trials. In collaboration with Carbon to Sea and the National Ocean Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Submarine’s data protocol is undergoing an open comment period through March 7th, allowing researchers, partners, and community members to submit feedback. 

Brad Rochlin and Tannis Thorlakson join to discuss their work at Cascade Climate, a philanthropically-backed nonprofit working to accelerate natural climate interventions such as enhanced rock weathering (ERW). Brad and Tannis share insights from Cascade’s development of a data quarry method that could fill an important gap in existing carbon data quantification methods — and ultimately unlock greater scientific understanding of ERW.

During the episode, the guests and hosts consider how these data standardization and sharing efforts — across the OAE and ERW fields — are laying the foundation for enhanced research efficiency and increasing public trust in CDR methods as potentially viable solutions to slow the impacts of climate change. The ongoing work from Submarine Scientific and Cascade Climate aim to help researchers share learnings in real time, improve collaboration, and support data transparency. 

ACRONYMS / CONCEPTS:

• CDR - carbon dioxide removal
• ERW - enhanced rock weathering
• OAE - ocean alkalinity enhancement
• IP - intellectual property (29:38) 
• NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (38:28)
• CDRXIV (pronounced “see-dee archive”) (38:46)
• Hourglass (Listen to a previous episode here) (38:53)
• R&D - research & development (43:43)

Plan Sea is a semi-weekly podcast exploring ocean-based climate solutions, brought to you by the Carbon to Sea Initiative & the American University Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal.

Hey listeners, we want to hear from you!

What 2024 milestone in the world of carbon removal should we be celebrating?

And what do you hope to see in the marine CDR field in 2025?

Leave us a quick voice message at www.speakpipe.com/planseapodcast

It only takes a few seconds, and you could be featured in our next episode. 

Thanks, and happy new year! 

Plan Sea is a semi-weekly podcast exploring ocean-based climate solutions, brought to you by the Carbon to Sea Initiative & the American University Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal.

This new episode features two OAE researchers and their insights from conducting field research as well as a special request to you, our listeners!

In this edition of Plan Sea, hosts Anna Madlener and Wil Burns are joined by two leading ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) researchers: Dr. Jaimie Palter from the University of Rhode Island’s School of Oceanography and Dr. Dariia Atamanchuk from Dalhousie University’s Department of Oceanography. Palter and Atamanchuk both lead field research sites studying OAE and are part of Carbon to Sea’s Field Research Steering Committee. 

Palter and Atamanchuk discuss their work leading field research sites studying OAE in coastal lagoon and ocean harbor settings, respectively, and share initial findings. The Plan Sea hosts and this episode’s guests underscore the importance of field research guiding the recommendation for scientifically robust, yet affordable and actionable monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) processes, and encourage greater collaboration between projects and across the sector.

Also: we would like to hear from you, our listeners, before our next episode! Let us know what 2024 milestone we should be celebrating or what you hope to see in 2025 by leaving us a voice message here that may be used in our next episode!

Acronyms used throughout the episode: 

• NOAA NOPP –  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Oceanographic Partnership Program (1:47) 
• AGU - American Geophysical Union (2:00)
• MRV - Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (13:25)
• pCO2 - Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (34:58)
• EPA - Environmental Protection Agency (56:27)

Plan Sea is a semi-weekly podcast exploring ocean-based climate solutions, brought to you by the Carbon to Sea Initiative & the American University Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal.

In this edition of Plan Sea, hosts Anna Madlener and Wil Burns are joined by Captura CEO Steve Oldham to discuss Direct Ocean Capture technology. Captura is a Pasadena, CA-based company that is exploring the use of renewable energy to remove carbon from the ocean as a low-cost, large-scale climate solution.

Learn more about Captura’s DOC approach and propriety technology on their website here. 

Listen to our previous episode with Banyu Carbon’s Co-Founder & CEO Alex Gagnonon here.

Acronyms used throughout the episode:

• DAC - Direct Air Capture (6:38)
• RD&D - Research, Development, and Demonstration (21:21)
• KPIs - Key Performance Indicators (22:17)
• MRV - Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (35:34)

Plan Sea is a semi-weekly podcast exploring ocean-based climate solutions, brought to you by the Carbon to Sea Initiative & the American University Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal.

In this edition of Plan Sea, hosts Anna Madlener and Wil Burns are joined by returning guest Mike Kelland, CEO and co-founder of Planetary Technologies, as well as Dr. Will Burt, Planetary’s Chief Ocean Scientist. Planetary is an ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) startup based in Halifax, Canada.

Link to Planetary's webinar on recent trial results here.

Listen to our first episode with Mike Kelland here.

ACRONYMS / CONCEPTS:

• NOAA (19:39): National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association
• MRV (32:39): Monitoring, Reporting and Verification
• ROMS (34:35): Regional Ocean Modeling System
• EPA (53:06): Environmental Protection Agency
• London Convention and Protocol (53:41)

Plan Sea is a semi-weekly podcast exploring ocean-based climate solutions, brought to you by the Carbon to Sea Initiative & the American University Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal.

In today's episode, hosts Anna Madlener and Wil Burns are joined by Grace Andrews from Hourglass Climate. They discuss Hourglass' work on environmental monitoring and carbon removal quantification of Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE)  trials as a research non-profit.

To view the Ocean Visions webinar referenced on the podcast, click here: LINK.

Acronyms:

• MRV (1:42) 
• mCDR (3:28)
• USGS (18:51)
• EPA (19:32)
• NOAA (20:51)
• LCA (23:09)
• pCO2 (25:02)

Plan Sea is a semi-weekly podcast exploring ocean-based climate solutions, brought to you by the Carbon to Sea Initiative & the American University Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal.

In this edition of Plan Sea, hosts Anna Madlener and Wil Burns discuss a novel sunlight-driven approach to marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) with Alex Gagnon, co-founder and CEO of Banyu Carbon, a direct ocean removal startup based in Seattle, WA.

Plan Sea is a semi-weekly podcast exploring ocean-based climate solutions, brought to you by the Carbon to Sea Initiative & the American University Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal.