Alaska study sees mixed results on links between kelp farms and CO2 levels

Published 5:30 am Thursday, June 18, 2026

A study into the amount of CO2 absorbed at a pair of Alaska kelp farms is throwing some cold water on hopes that seaweed could be an answer to climate change.

Alaska kelp farms, which have been viewed as a potential boon for reducing local carbon-dioxide levels, have surprisingly murky effects on atmospheric CO2 removal, according to a new study.

A University of Alaska Fairbanks-led project measured the amount of CO2 that was emitted and absorbed at two kelp farms in the Gulf of Alaska during the 2023-2024 growing season. The outcome was mixed — one farm slightly reduced carbon dioxide in the local environment while the other added more to it.

Marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) has been touted as a potential strategy to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, with the ocean serving as a sink for human-produced CO2.

The study, which was recently published in the journal Ocean Science, is the first to measure mCDR in Alaska waters. It focused on kelp farms, which can draw down CO2 through the process of photosynthesis.

“It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon that seaweed is going to change the world, but ultimately we want to be honest to the public,” said Amanda Kelley, an associate professor at UAF’s College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences and a contributor to the study.

“Really, it’s very nuanced, and there are a lot of factors that affect kelp’s ability to do that.”

Josianne Haag, who led the project as a UAF doctoral student, installed sensors both inside and outside kelp farms in Windy Bay near Cordova and Kalsin Bay on Kodiak Island. From seeding to harvest, hourly data was collected on ocean chemistry, temperature, salinity and oxygen levels.

The two sites had numerous differences, including the type of seaweed being planted, the timing of their growing seasons and the size of the farms. Also, Windy Bay’s tides are more extreme than Kalsin Bay’s.

The results were striking and varied. The farms flipped between absorbing and releasing carbon dioxide depending on the amount of sunlight and the time of day. Extreme low tides affected CO2 levels by flushing groundwater into the area, briefly raising carbon dioxide levels.

A film of marine fauna grew on some of the farm equipment in Kalsin Bay, leading to a burst of carbon dioxide production through their respiration.

Overall, the Windy Bay farm slightly reduced nearby atmospheric marine carbon dioxide levels while the Kalsin Bay farm boosted them. Measurements will continue at the farms for at least two more years, but the first season revealed that a kelp farm’s recipe for carbon intake and output is surprising and complex.

“It’s really not doing much in either direction,” Haag said. “The farms aren’t necessarily harming anything, but we shouldn’t be blowing out of proportion that they’re going to save us from climate change.”

The study was part of the Mariculture Research and Restoration Consortium project, which is an ongoing effort to look at the impacts and benefits of mariculture in Alaska. Mar ReCon research is funded by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council.

By Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection on June 17, 2026

Anchorage police shot and killed a shoplifting suspect, who also allegedly shot two officers, during an attempted arrest at a Walmart on the city’s southside late Tuesday.

That’s according to Anchorage Police Chief Sean Case, who shared preliminary details of the incident in a press conference with news media Wednesday morning.

One officer remained hospitalized in stable condition Wednesday after the shoplifting suspect shot him in the lower body, Case said. Another officer was shot in the chest, but protective armor stopped the shots, the police chief said.

“We almost lost an officer last night, probably two, at what took place,” Case said. “This went from a simple misdemeanor arrest to a very violent act at the snap of a finger in close quarters.”

Case described a chaotic struggle between the man – whose name police have not yet released – and three officers responding to a reported shoplifting at the Walmart store on the Old Seward Highway near Dimond Boulevard at about 10:25 p.m. Tuesday.

Walmart staff had stopped the man and brought him to a loss prevention office at the store, because they believed he had some stolen merchandise that was hidden on his person, Case said. The man was sitting in the office with Walmart employees when officers arrived, Case said.

In the small room, the officers were getting some basic information when the man tried to flee, Case said.

“The three officers and the suspect went down to the ground,” Case said. “During the struggle, the suspect fired rounds at one of the officers that hit him twice in the lower body. The suspect then fired some additional rounds that struck another officer in the chest. That round was stopped by a ballistic plate in his vest.”

Case said officers were unaware the man had a gun on him until he began firing.

The officer struck in the chest returned fire, killing the man, Case said.

“The officer that was struck in the lower body was immediately transported to a local hospital,” he said. “The other two officers that were in the room also sustained injuries, and they went to the hospital later and were cleared.”

Case said the shooting was contained to the loss prevention office and did not spill out into the rest of the store.

Calls to Walmart went unanswered Wednesday morning. An Anchorage Reddit user who said they were at the store described employees rushing shoppers out after the shooting.

The store remained closed Wednesday as yellow tape blocked the entrance and investigators appeared to be inside analyzing the scene.

Under Anchorage Police Department policy, the names of the officers involved in the incident will be released after 72 hours. Case said the officers were part of the department’s Patrol Division.

This is the third fatal police shooting in Anchorage so far in 2026 and the fifth police shooting overall. Case said the city has seen “too much gun violence” in recent months and that the community needs to come together to address solutions.

“The Anchorage Police Department is going to keep these conversations going even if these conversations lead to criticism on how we do and conduct our business,” Case said. “We are open for all the conversations, so that we can move forward as a community to see some of these numbers go down.”