Azhar Razin ’26, Chemical and Biological Engineering

Azhar Razin ’26

Major

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Project Title

Open Ocean Seaweed Mariculture

Presentation Link

View Azhar's Presentation

The biological carbon pump, which is primarily controlled by phytoplankton productivity in the surface ocean, plays an important role in storing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the ocean interior. In recent years, seaweed mariculture has gained attention as a mechanism to increase the ocean’s capability for carbon sequestration due to seaweed’s high carbon-to-nutrient ratio content. Depth cycling, a process where seaweed can photosynthesize near the surface during the day and are lowered to nutrient-rich deep waters at night, may enable seaweed to grow more rapidly and capture more carbon as a result. Collaborating with the Ren Research Lab from National Taiwan University, I spent a week at Climate Foundation’s seaweed farm in Cebu, Philippines with two Princeton graduate students. There, I collected and filtered seawater samples from various depths for nutrient analysis to better understand the seaweed platforms’ nutrient cycle and its potential for carbon capture. Additionally, I had the opportunity to snorkel in the farm and harvest seaweed specimens. This hands-on experience deepened my understanding of marine ecosystems and marine permaculture’s potential as a climate mitigation strategy. I hope to incorporate the fieldwork and collaborative skills I gained this summer to pursue further research in climate mitigation.

* This internship is connected to the HMEI Climate and Energy Grand Challenges project, “Deep Water-Fertilized, Open Ocean Seaweed Mariculture: A Field Study.”