Dr. Kwame MensahAccra, GhanaLive

SargassoSense Open Monitoring

An open-data sargassum forecasting and harvesting network protecting West African and Caribbean coastlines.

Design & Bio-MaterialsOpen DataBio-materials

About this project

SargassoSense is a well-conceived open-data network that combines satellite remote sensing, in‑situ drifters, and community reporting to forecast and enable harvesting of sargassum for biochar and bioplastic value chains. The proposal scores well for scientific grounding and community orientation but lacks several essential methodological, baseline, and governance details required for fully verifiable impact claims—resulting in a solid but not top-tier integrity score (71/100).

AI summary by the Ozeaon Climate Intelligence System

Why this integrity score?

The OCIS Integrity Report below explains the reasoning behind the headline score — dimension by dimension — and is readable in full here.

Score Reasoning — Dimensions

The headline score is a weighted sum of six integrity dimensions assessed by the Ozeaon Climate Intelligence System.

Scientific Rigor20% weight
75
Uses accepted remote sensing and in‑situ methods and links to established forecasting practices, but lacks documented validation plans, peer-reviewed protocols, and quantified uncertainty estimates.
Open Science15% weight
70
Project commits to open forecasts and community reporting, but the proposal lacks explicit licensing, data standards, and reproducible code/process release schedules.
Measurability (dMRV)20% weight
65
Data sources are measurable (satellite, drifters, community reports) but the proposal lacks documented protocols for biomass quantification, conversion efficiency to biochar/bioplastics, carbon accounting, and independent verification.
Additionality & Impact15% weight
72
Shifts sargassum into potentially long‑lived products and removes beach cleanup burdens, but additionality is unproven without baselines, leakage assessment, and comparisons to business-as-usual disposal.
Transparency & Governance15% weight
68
Open forecasting suggests transparency, yet the proposal omits clear governance structures, financial flows, data stewardship responsibilities, and third‑party audit plans.
Community & Equity15% weight
75
Inclusion of community reports and coastal protection goals is a strength, but details are missing on free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), benefit sharing, labor safeguards, and dispute resolution.

Strengths

Integration of satellite, drifter, and community-sourced data creates a robust multi-source monitoring approach.
Clear ambition to keep data and forecasts open, which supports reproducibility and wider utility (coastal managers, fishers, researchers).
Direct value-chain linkage (harvesting -> biochar/bioplastics) increases potential for measurable climate and social co-benefits.
Focus on West African and Caribbean coastlines targets regions with recurring social and economic impacts from sargassum.

Risks & Gaps

No documented measurement protocol for converting observed sargassum area/volume into reliable biomass and carbon metrics.
Lack of baseline and leakage analysis means claimed climate benefits could be overstated or non‑additional.

dMRV Recommendation

Tier

Tier 2 — Operational dMRV

Cadence

Operational: automated forecasts weekly (daily alerts for events); monitoring reports monthly (biomass and harvest tallies); conversion and QA logs continuous at plant level; independent verification quarterly with annual audit and public annual report.

Recommended

Yes

The project has measurable inputs (satellite, drifters, community data) and tangible outputs (harvested biomass → products), but it lacks documented protocols and verification. A Tier 2 operational dMRV—combining remote sensing, in-situ sampling, product accounting, and periodic third-party verification—matches the complexity of the supply chain and enables credible, repeatable claims while the project scales.

Satellite remote sensing: Sentinel-2/3, MODIS/VIIRS and SAR data with documented classification algorithms and confidence metricsGNSS-tracked surface drifters with periodic ground-truthing of algal concentrationCommunity mobile reporting app with geotagging, timestamping, and QA workflowsUAV / photogrammetry transects and targeted field sampling to derive biomass-per-area relationships

About this project

Generating OCIS summary & integrity report…