In this episode, we sit down with Doctor Andrea Grottoli, a Distinguished Professor of Earth Sciences at the Ohio State University and the inventor of the Underwater Zooplankton Enhancement Light Array (UZELA). Doctor Grottoli has spent thirty years studying coral feeding mechanics and the physiological collapse that occurs during bleaching events. Building on that knowledge, she is now rolling out an invention, designed to drastically improve outcomes and return on investment for global coral restoration efforts.

UZELA relies on a simple biological truth: zooplankton are drawn to light like moths to a flame. By strategically placing upward-facing lights near coral outplants and nurseries for just one hour a night, UZELA concentrates zooplankton within a localized dome, significantly increasing the feeding opportunities for stressed and baby corals. We explore why these measures are necessary, the biological data proving their efficacy, and science behind it all.

Some topics we cover:

• The Physiology of Coral Starvation: We all know a bleaching reef is a bad sign, but what's actually happening to an individual coral?

• The UZELA Breakthrough: How localized light increases feeding rates and what that means for stressed coral.

• Ecological Realities and Technological Limits: Why artificial light at night requires precise, nuanced deployment and why UZELA buys us time, but is one intervention among many that must support reefs facing local stressors and climate change.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Dr. Andrea Grottoli on LinkedinGrottoli Lab: u.osu.edu/grottoli.1/Coral Restoration Foundation: coralrestoration.orgMote Marine Laboratory: mote.orgThe Ohio State University School of Earth Sciences: earthsciences.osu.edu

Thanks as always to our Producer, Emily Pokou.

A production of REEF Scuba

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Sambuddha Misra, a chemical oceanographer, associate professor of earth sciences at the Indian Institute of Science, and the chief scientist at Alt Carbon. Dr. Misra has spent two decades studying how chemical weathering shapes the planet's climate over millions of years, and is now actively applying that science to draw down atmospheric carbon at scale.

Alt Carbon's Darjeeling Revival Project is spreading finely crushed basalt, a byproduct of the Indian construction industry, across tens of thousands of acres of Himalayan tea estates. We explore the surprisingly elegant chain of geochemistry that removes CO2 from the air, supplies crucial micronutrients to degraded agricultural soils, and ultimately pushes alkalinity into the Bay of Bengal to buffer against ocean acidification.

Some topics we cover:

• The Geochemistry of Accelerated Weathering: The literal mechanics of how crushed basalt, rainwater, and atmospheric CO2 interact to compress a million-year geological process into a single commercial cycle.

• Agricultural Yields and the Human Element: Why the physical application of basalt is done entirely by hand, and how this process is driving incredible crop yield increases in degraded soils.

• Measurement Bottlenecks and the Reality of Scaling: The grueling structural reality of verifying commercial carbon credits. Dr. Misra breaks down the exact science of tracking elements in open soil profiles, and why scaling this project will require inventing entirely new measurement technologies.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Alt Carbon: ⁠altcarbon.com⁠

  • The Darjeeling Revival Project: ⁠⁠⁠altcarbon.com⁠⁠⁠

• Isometric Registry: ⁠isometric.com⁠

  Indian Institute of Science: ⁠https://iisc.ac.in/⁠

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Thanks as always to our Producer, Emily Pokou.