C-BLUES field campaign at the Ischia CO₂ vents

In mid-June, researchers from Sorbonne University – Laboratoire d'Océanographie de Villefranche (LOV) and the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (SZN), Naples joined forces for a field campaign at the natural CO₂ vents of Ischia, Italy, as part of the C-BLUES project.

CO₂ vents in action on a seagrass meadow.

Together, the international team investigated how ocean acidification influences the metabolism and carbon cycling of Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows. The team included Steeve Comeau (Researcher), Heloise Caraty (PhD), and Samir Alliouane (Engineer) from Sorbonne Université (SU), and Nuria Teixidó (Researcher) and Gaia Grosso (PhD) from the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (SZN).

Using advanced underwater instrumentation, the campaign combined in situ metabolism determinations, benthic incubations, and measurements along the natural pH gradient created by the CO₂ vents to improve our understanding of how future ocean acidification may affect the carbon sequestration capacity of these important blue carbon ecosystems.

The team installing and checking the CO₂ vents on the seagrass meadow.

The campaign marks another important step for C-BLUES, generating the high-quality field observations needed to better quantify the resilience and climate mitigation potential of seagrass blue carbon ecosystems in a changing ocean.