OCEAN KARIZ: a novel approach to artificial upwelling

Abstract

Artificial upwelling has long been recognized as a potential approach for enhancing marine productivity, supporting coastal ecosystems, and mitigating some consequences of global warming. By transporting cold, nutrient-rich deep sea water toward the upper ocean, artificial upwelling may contribute to reducing local sea surface temperature, improving fisheries, supporting aquaculture, and increasing coastal resilience. However, despite decades of scientific and social interest, large-scale implementation has remained limited, because most existing approaches depend on offshore pumping systems, high energy requirements, complex marine infrastructure, and demanding maintenance conditions. This paper introduces OCEAN KARIZ (OK), a novel conceptual framework for artificial upwelling inspired by a natural upwelling system (Dhofar phenomenon), which has changed regional weather and economic conditions in the limited coastal region of Oman without prominent side effects over the past millennia. Unlike conventional approaches that attempt to mechanically lift deep sea water at offshore locations, OCEAN KARIZ proposes establishing a hydraulic connection between deep ocean water and the coastline through a large-diameter transmission pipeline, named the "mother pipe". As a rule, we never connect the mother pipe directly to a pump. Instead, we connect it to an enlarged coastal terminal section. The coastal terminal, which is air-connected through an upright vent and totally located under water, functions as a stable hydraulic source from which independent branch pipelines can distribute deep sea water according to different applications. The OK system architecture has many technical and economic advantages over conventional systems, which make it controllable and extendable.