CLIMATE AND EARTH
SYSTEM SCIENCES
Photo: UHH/Denstorf
31 March 2022
Photo: private
We are proud to announce the successful MSc thesis presentation of our SICSS member Chantal Mears
Her thesis "Using long-lived radium isotopes as water-mass tracers in the North Sea and investigating their use for tracking artificial ocean alkalinization" was supervised by Prof. Dr. Kay-Christian Emeis and Prof. Dr. Helmuth Thomas.
Chantal investigated the use of the long lived radium isotopes (228Ra and 226Ra) as watermass tracers to map distribution patterns within the North Sea. Despite being a heavily studied area, the North Sea was of particular interest for her thesis because of its ability to draw down atmospheric CO2, which has established the region as a viable option for the climate mitigation strategy, artificial ocean alkalinization. Chantal's thesis aimed to contribute to this by establishing a baseline for the North Sea systems, with particular focus on the 228Ra -alkalinity relationship, prior to further intentional anthropogenic perturbation. Overall, she was able to build on the previous knowledge of watermass distributions within the North Sea, identifying two independent regions (the Southern North Sea and the Northern North Sea), as well as resolving some of the more nuanced distribution patterns within the Northern North Sea. Looking forward, the work from this thesis will be used as a starting point for future research initiatives, with the aim to better understand the initial conditions of the North Sea, and more particularly, the extent to which radium isotopes can be used as tracers for alkalinity.
Chantal did her thesis project at Helmholtz Zentrum Hereon, where she has worked since April 2020 with Prof. Dr. Helmuth Thomas.
Chantal's future plans?
In the future, Chantal hopes to continue trying to work out biogeochemical puzzles within the ocean and exploring the extent to which radium can be used.