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Emission of volatile halocarbons from the farming of commercially important tropical seaweeds

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Abstract

The emission rates of the atmospherically important halogenated trace gases CHBr3, CHBr2Cl and CHBrCl2 were measured from two commercially important tropical red seaweed species Gracilaria manilaensis Yamamoto and Trono, and Kappaphycus alvarezii (Doty) L.M.Liao in a range of environments to investigate the potential impact of seaweed aquaculture on atmospheric halocarbon concentrations. Deep convective transport in the tropics can carry such volatile halocarbons to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. In this first study of its kind, emissions from these two seaweed species were measured after growing on an offshore platform, in onshore tanks, and in cages at a river mouth in eastern Peninsular Malaysia. Of the three cultivation systems, the amount of CHBr3 released by G. manilaensis was highest from the cage culture at the river mouth (267 ± 13 ppbv), followed by the offshore platform (78 ± 47 ppbv) and onshore tank (69 ± 69 ppbv). Daylight emissions by G. manilaensis and K. alvarezii from both offshore and onshore cultivations were greater than in the dark. The global production of seaweed is projected to increase further due to the rising demand for seaweed products, the emphasis on clean energy, and climate action. Harvesting of commercial seaweeds could potentially significantly increase local atmospheric abundances of CHBr3; in our study 500 g of these typical seaweeds increased CHBr3 in a 40 L flux chamber by 41–267 ppbv in 30 min; far above usual background amounts. As our study showed that higher temperatures increase seaweed halocarbon emissions, given impending climate change, and the possible extension of seaweed cultivation to subtropical seas as seawater temperatures rise, this might further increase halocarbon emissions. We estimate that the harvesting of K. alvarezii in the year 2020 in Malaysia could have released 63–322 mol Br for each hour of harvesting activity.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements are due to Ahmad Nurhakim Sabri, Shahizam Mohd Hasan, and Ahamad Kamil Sabuti for their assistance during sample collection, culture, and logistics.

Funding

The research is funded by the Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (HICoE) Phase II Fund, Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (IOES-2014F & HICoE IOES-2023D), UM Research University Fund (RU003-2022), Postgraduate Research Grant, PPP (PG300-2016A), and the University of Malaya Grand Challenge Fund (GC002B-15SBS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences (IOES), Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Fiona Seh-Lin Keng, Siew-Moi Phang, Hui-Yin Yeong & Choon-Weng Lee

  2. Institute for Advanced Studies, Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Fiona Seh-Lin Keng & Noorsaadah Abd Rahman

  3. Faculty of Applied Sciences, UCSI University, 56000, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Siew-Moi Phang

  4. Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK

    Gill Malin & William Sturges

  5. Faculty of Science, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK

    Emma Leedham Elvidge

  6. Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Choon-Weng Lee

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  1. Fiona Seh-Lin Keng
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  5. Gill Malin
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Contributions

F.S.-L. Keng: Conceptualization, Methodology, Data curation, Original draft preparation, Reviewing and Editing; S.-M. Phang: Conceptualization, Methodology, Reviewing and Editing, Funding acquisition, Supervision; N. Abd Rahman: Reviewing and Editing, Supervision; H.-Y. Yeong: Conceptualization, Methodology, Reviewing and Editing; Gill Malin: Reviewing and editing, Supervision; E. Leedham Elvidge: Methodology, Data curation, Reviewing and editing, Supervision; William Sturges: Methodology, Data curation, Reviewing and editing, Supervision; C.-W. Lee: Reviewing and Editing, Funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Fiona Seh-Lin Keng or Siew-Moi Phang.

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Keng, F.SL., Phang, SM., Rahman, N.A. et al. Emission of volatile halocarbons from the farming of commercially important tropical seaweeds. J Appl Phycol 35, 3007–3020 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-023-03067-z

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