UM Earns $936,000 Federal Award to Study Ocean Acidification
MISSOULA – The ÁÔÆæÖØ¿Ú recently earned a $936,000 federal grant to help improve understanding of ocean acidification – both its magnitude and effect on marine organisms.
World oceans are becoming more acidic as they absorb the excess carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere by human activity. UM chemistry Professor Mike DeGrandpre and his team will use the funding to craft a single instrument that measures both ocean pH and alkalinity.
“This project will combine two proven carbon-measurement systems into one device,” DeGrandpre said. “We already have developed two separate devices – the SAMI-pH and SAMI-alk – that quantify the inorganic carbon parameters in the ocean.”
SAMI stands for Submersible Autonomous Moored Instrument. When the new multiuse SAMI is ready, the grant will fund testing of the prototype on the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System buoy in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
The UM grant is one of 12 awarded by the Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The total $16.7 million in funding supports the development of innovative new technologies and public-private partnerships focused on sustainability, equity, biodiversity and climate adaptation.
The awards are part of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System’s Marine Life and Ocean Technology Transition programs, as well as the Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act.
“To tackle climate change nationwide, we have to better understand and manage our coasts,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “These awards will advance new technologies needed to gain critical insights into the status and health of our coastal ecosystems.”
DeGrandpre and his UM spinoff company, , have earned prestigious awards in the past. In 2015, they topped rival innovators around the world to earn an XPRIZE and $1.5 million for developing an accurate and affordable instrument to create a precise pH sensor to measure ocean chemistry.
“We are gratified by this latest award and excited to get to work,” DeGrandpre said. “Ocean acidification has a stark impact on shell-growing organisms and entire marine ecosystems. We hope to develop a better tool to understand this monumental challenge.”
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Contact: Mike DeGrandpre, UM chemistry professor, 406-243-4118, michael.degrandpre@umontana.edu.