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Peer-reviewedCC BYCommunications Sustainability

The Ecological Activity Index tool for mapping potential ecosystem exposure to ocean alkalinity enhancement

  • Lukas Marx1,2
  • Jennie E. Rheuban1
  • Daniel C. McCorkle3
  • Christopher S. Murray4
  • Yiming Guo5,1,6
  • Zhaohui Aleck Wang1
  • Anna P. M. Michel7
  • Ke Chen6
  • Hyewon Kim1
  • Adam V. Subhas1
7 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Marine Chemistry & Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
  2. 2Röst Marine Research Center, Reykjavik, Iceland
  3. 3Department of Geology & Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
  4. 4Department of Biology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
  5. 5Department of Geography, Geology, and the Environment, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA
  6. 6Department of Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
  7. 7Department of Applied Ocean Physics & Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
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Abstract

Ocean alkalinity enhancement is being explored to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but its interactions with marine ecosystems remain uncertain. Robust data-based baseline frameworks are needed to assess where and when ecosystems may be increasingly exposed to ocean alkalinity enhancement. Here we present the Ecological Activity Index (EAI) that integrates publicly available datasets on chlorophyll a , zooplankton, and fish larvae abundance, endangered species distributions and commercial fishing activity across the United States Northeast Shelf and Slope. This framework provides a spatially and temporally resolved measure of ecosystem activity and human use. Ecological activity varies strongly across regions and seasons, with patterns that differ between parts of the food web and fisheries. Higher EAI values indicate greater overlap between ecological activity and human use, and thus potentially higher exposure. This framework establishes a quantitative approach to inform site selection, monitoring design, and environmental assessment of ocean alkalinity enhancement.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{marx2026ecological,
  title = {{The Ecological Activity Index tool for mapping potential ecosystem exposure to ocean alkalinity enhancement}},
  author = {Lukas Marx and Jennie E. Rheuban and Daniel C. McCorkle and Christopher S. Murray and Yiming Guo and Zhaohui Aleck Wang and Anna P. M. Michel and Ke Chen and Hyewon Kim and Adam V. Subhas},
  journal = {Communications Sustainability},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.1038/s44458-026-00123-w},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s44458-026-00123-w},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - The Ecological Activity Index tool for mapping potential ecosystem exposure to ocean alkalinity enhancement
AU  - Lukas Marx
AU  - Jennie E. Rheuban
AU  - Daniel C. McCorkle
AU  - Christopher S. Murray
AU  - Yiming Guo
AU  - Zhaohui Aleck Wang
AU  - Anna P. M. Michel
AU  - Ke Chen
AU  - Hyewon Kim
AU  - Adam V. Subhas
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/22
JO  - Communications Sustainability
DO  - 10.1038/s44458-026-00123-w
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s44458-026-00123-w
AB  - Ocean alkalinity enhancement is being explored to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but its interactions with marine ecosystems remain uncertain. Robust data-based baseline frameworks are needed to assess where and when ecosystems may be increasingly exposed to ocean alkalinity enhancement. Here we present the Ecological Activity Index (EAI) that integrates publicly available datasets on chlorophyll a , zooplankton, and fish larvae abundance, endangered species distributions and commercial fishing activity across the United States Northeast Shelf and Slope. This framework provides a spatially and temporally resolved measure of ecosystem activity and human use. Ecological activity varies strongly across regions and seasons, with patterns that differ between parts of the food web and fisheries. Higher EAI values indicate greater overlap between ecological activity and human use, and thus potentially higher exposure. This framework establishes a quantitative approach to inform site selection, monitoring design, and environmental assessment of ocean alkalinity enhancement.
SN  - 3059-4308
ER  -