Svalbard Coastal Weathering Initiative
DemonstrationMCC-2024-0027 • Norway • Svalbard
TECHNICAL_REVIEW
Methodology
MCC-011
Country
Norway
Svalbard
Estimated Area
850 ha
Est. Credits/Year
6,200
Start Date
6/1/2024
Crediting Period
30 years
Project Description
Pilot enhanced coastal weathering project deploying olivine-rich mineral on beaches along Svalbard's western coast. Monitoring ocean alkalinity changes using autonomous sensor arrays and satellite-based verification. First phase covers 15 km of coastline with plans to scale.
Project lifecycle
Project workflowTECHNICAL_REVIEW
Milestones (2/5 completed)
- Baseline ecological surveyCOMPLETED
Establish pre-project ecological baseline using transect surveys, water quality sampling, and remote-sensing imagery analysis.
Due: 1 Jul 2024Completed: 3 Jul 2024 - Stakeholder consultation completedCOMPLETED
Open consultation with coastal communities, fisher cooperatives, and local authorities — minutes archived in project record.
Due: 30 Aug 2024Completed: 5 Sept 2024 - Field implementation kickoffPENDING
On-site teams mobilised; planting, deployment, or protection-measures begin per methodology specification.
Due: 29 Oct 2024 - First annual monitoring reportPENDING
Year-one monitoring report compiled and submitted; covers biomass, GPS tracks, photo points, and community indicators.
Due: 27 May 2025 - Independent validation site visitPENDING
VVB lead auditor visits project site, samples evidence, reviews documentation, drafts validation opinion.
Due: 25 Aug 2025
Validation & verification
Validation
ISO 14064-2:2019DOCUMENT_REVIEW
Site visit: 29 Oct 2024 · Opinion issued: —
Verification
8,591.8 net creditsINITIATED
Quantified
10,108
Buffer
15%
Period: 18 Dec 2024 – 18 Dec 2025
AI assessment
PDD_COMPLETENESS_REVIEW · 1 Jul 2024Completeness
84%
Confidence
HIGH
85%
Recommendation
ADDRESS_FINDINGS_THEN_PROCEED
Section analysis
- Project description92
- Baseline & additionality81
- Quantification86
- Monitoring plan79
- Safeguards & FPIC88
Risk flags
- LOWMETHODOLOGY_DEVIATION_LOW
- LOWEVIDENCE_GAP_MINOR
Technical review
IN_PROGRESS
Review in progress. Two minor non-conformities under response.
Findings (3)
- OBSERVATIONOPENPDD §3.2 / Methodology baseline approachMinor clarification recommended on baseline-period selection rationale.
- NON_CONFORMITY_MINOROPENPDD §5.4 / Monitoring requirementsMonitoring plan should specify QA/QC sampling frequency for sediment carbon density.
- OBSERVATIONOPENPDD §7.1 / SD contributionCo-benefits narrative would benefit from quantified gender-disaggregated employment data.
Sustainable development contributions
7.5
Overall score
Assessed: 30 Aug 2024Climate (SDG 13) contribution from carbon sequestration and avoided emissions in the project boundary.
Indicators (2)
- 9Annual CO2-eq sequestration13.20 tCO2e → 8420 tCO2e
- 7Climate resilience index (community survey)13.12.4 / 5 → 3.6 / 5
8.2
Overall score
SD-Vista EligibleAssessed: 30 Aug 2024Life Below Water (SDG 14) contribution from habitat protection, biodiversity recovery, and sustainable use of marine resources.
Indicators (3)
- 8Coral / seagrass / mangrove cover (%)14.238% → 52%
- 9Area effectively protected (ha)14.50 → 1250
- 8Fish biomass index (kg / 100 m²)14.412.1 → 18.7
6.8
Overall score
Assessed: 30 Aug 2024Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8) contribution from local employment, training, and supply-chain participation.
Indicators (3)
- 7Local jobs created (FTE)8.50 → 34
- 8Women in project workforce (%)5.50% → 41%
- 7Households with improved livelihood income1.40 → 210
Safeguards & ESIA
Screened: 31 Jul 2024Risk category
CATEGORY_CFPIC status
PENDINGClearance
PENDINGESIA required
YESESIA scoping completed; no Category-A risks identified. ESMP includes adaptive management triggers and grievance mechanism. FPIC documented with neighbouring communities.
Evidence library (8)
PHOTOGRAPHIC · 2FIELD_OBSERVATION · 2LAB_ANALYSIS · 1COMMUNITY_TESTIMONY · 1SATELLITE_IMAGERY · 1GPS_TRACK · 1
| Type | Description | Collected | GPS | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHOTOGRAPHIC | Drone orthomosaic of project area at 5 cm GSD; overlap 80%/70%; captured in optimal tide window. | 29 Sept 2024 | — | ✓ 18 Dec 2024 |
| FIELD_OBSERVATION | Megafauna sightings log: turtles, sharks, cetaceans recorded with timestamp, GPS, and observer. | 14 Sept 2024 | — | — |
| LAB_ANALYSIS | Sediment carbon density samples analysed via LECO CN628; bulk density and organic carbon fractions. | 30 Aug 2024 | — | ✓ 29 Oct 2024 |
| COMMUNITY_TESTIMONY | Signed minutes from FPIC consultation with neighbouring fisher cooperative; questions and concessions recorded. | 15 Aug 2024 | — | — |
| SATELLITE_IMAGERY | Sentinel-2 L2A imagery, 10 m resolution, NDVI and water-index composites for monitoring period. | 31 Jul 2024 | — | ✓ 9 Sept 2024 |
| GPS_TRACK | Surveyor GPS track of restored / protected polygon perimeter; CSV exported from Garmin GPSMAP. | 16 Jul 2024 | — | — |
| PHOTOGRAPHIC | Geo-tagged photo points at 12 fixed monitoring stations; canopy cover and seedling survival visible. | 1 Jul 2024 | — | ✓ 21 Jul 2024 |
| FIELD_OBSERVATION | Quadrat sampling along three 100 m transects; species count and percent-cover recorded by trained ecologists. | 16 Jun 2024 | — | — |
Stakeholder consultation
OPENOpened
31 Jul 2024
Closes
30 Aug 2024
Total comments
6
Reversal events (0 detected)
No reversal events detected. The buffer pool remains intact.
Live biodiversity (GBIF)
cached 24h · live polygon queryTotal records
2,581
Species observed
54
Sample size
300
Top 12 species in polygon
| Species | Vernacular | Records | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gadus morhua | Atlantic cod | 58 | — |
| Alle alle | Little Auk | 26 | sample |
| Fulmarus glacialis | Northern Fulmar | 24 | sample |
| Larus hyperboreus | Glaucous Gull | 22 | sample |
| Uria lomvia | Thick-billed Murre | 22 | sample |
| Somateria mollissima | — | 21 | sample |
| Fratercula arctica | Atlantic Puffin | 17 | sample |
| Rissa tridactyla | Black-legged Kittiwake | 16 | sample |
| Cepphus grylle | Black Guillemot | 13 | — |
| Vulpes lagopus | Arctic Fox | 10 | sample |
| Rangifer tarandus | — | 8 | sample |
| Stercorarius parasiticus | Parasitic Jaeger | 8 | sample |
Source: Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) occurrence search — live polygon query, max 300 records sampled.
Continuous habitat monitoring
Sentinel-2 · CDSE · 3 snapshotsLatest period
1 Apr – 1 May 2026
NDVI mean
-0.342
Habitat coverage
0.0%
Cloud cover
100%
Latest least-cloudy Sentinel-2 mosaic of the project area, retrieved live from the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem. Continuous monitoring runs monthly.
Biodiversity context
GBIF · OBIS (UNESCO-IOC) · public datasetsGBIF (all biodiversity)
Records
2,581
Species
55
Last 5y
300
Top species in sample
- Gadus morhua Linnaeus, 175858
- Alle alle (Linnaeus, 1758)26
- Fulmarus glacialis (Linnaeus, 1761)24
- Larus hyperboreus Gunnerus, 176722
- Uria lomvia (Linnaeus, 1758)22
OBIS (marine-only)
Records
969
Species
147
Last 5y
51
Top marine species in sample
- Gadus morhua51
- Crustacea21
- Bacillariophyta11
- Annelida11
- Strombidiida5
Sample of up to 300 occurrences each. GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) covers all taxa; OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System, UNESCO-IOC) is the marine subset indexed against WoRMS. Both refresh daily via 24h cache.
Ocean color (chlorophyll, turbidity)
Sentinel-3 OLCI · CDSE · 2026-04Chlorophyll-a
3.88 mg/m³
NDCI
0.119
TSM proxy
0.159
Water quality
poor · stable
Sentinel-3 OLCI 300 m daily revisit. Chlorophyll-a via OC4Me proxy; NDCI (Mishra & Mishra red-edge) is robust in turbid coastal water. Roadmap: live cron alongside Sentinel-2/Sentinel-1.
Vessel activity in project area
Spire Maritime · global AISUnique vessels (24h)
49
Boundary intrusions (7d)
5
Flag diversity
6
Top vessel types
- Cargo19
- Tug12
- Research10
Sample MMSI traffic
732382710 · Research · ES
405139632 · Pleasure craft · BR
575002921 · Fishing · MH
266207165 · Cargo · MH
Sample data shown. Live Spire Maritime AIS subscription required for production traffic monitoring; the backend endpoint is integrated and waiting on subscription activation.
High-resolution commercial snapshot
Planet Labs · SkySatCollectCapture date
2026-05-07
Resolution
0.5 m
Cloud cover
18.5%
Area covered
315 km²
Scene ID
20260507_268112_ssc16
Planet PlanetScope 3 m daily / SkySat 0.5 m on-demand. Used to validate Sentinel-derived signals at sub-Sentinel resolution. Backend integrated; live activation pending Orders API entitlement.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) sample
NatureMetrics · MCC-EDNA-002-3089Collection date
2026-04-17
Species detected
49
IUCN red list (CR/EN/VU)
1
Top detections by read count
- Cymodocea nodosa · Little Neptune grass1,777 reads
- Stenella longirostris · Spinner dolphin719 reads
- Gadus morhua · Atlantic codVU2,361 reads
- Macrocystis pyrifera · Giant kelp386 reads
- Avicennia marina · Grey mangrove1,476 reads
Sample composition shown. Live NatureMetrics workflow ships sampling kits to field teams; lab returns metabarcoded species assignments against WoRMS / GBIF references. Replaces with real lab output on first sampling cohort.
Created: 6/1/2024
Last Updated: 3/26/2026