Professor Olav Solgaard and team are recipients of a grant from the Big Ideas for Oceans program. Their project, 'Timestamping seawater to improve climate modeling,’ will develop a photonic sensor that can distinguish between the light signatures of two carbon isotopes. The sensors will allow researchers to measure carbon isotopes in air and seawater. Having such data will help trace carbon sources, pathways, and storage timeframes to improve predictions of the ocean’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide that would otherwise escape to the atmosphere.

Olav’s team includes Professor David Miller, and graduate students Carson Valdez, Annie Kroo, and researcher Marek Vlk (Arctic University of Norway, Physics and Technology).

“The Big Ideas for Oceans grant program helps ensure that oceans figure prominently in cutting-edge science and critical conversations about climate change and sustainability,” said Oceans Department Chair Fiorenza Micheli, the David and Lucile Packard Professor in Marine Science and co-director of the Center for Ocean Solutions. “The seed grants support early-stage projects that have the potential to lead to breakthrough ocean knowledge and solutions.”

The Big Ideas for Oceans program, which provides grants of $10,000 to $150,000 for up to two years, is supported and administered by the Woods Institute for the Environment’s Environmental Venture Projects program.

Excerpted from Stanford Report, 'New projects to advance ocean health and sustainability.'