Ocean Acidification

The U.S. Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry (OCB) Project Office with co-sponsorship from the European Project on Ocean Acidification (EPOCA) is coordinating and hosting a hands-on ocean acidification short course that will convene members of the biological and chemical oceanography research communities to gain mutual insights on optimal ocean acidification experimental design. The short course will build on recommendations from the recent Ocean Acidification Best Practices Workshop in Kiel, Germany, and will provide a mechanism for educating scientists on appropriate chemical and biological techniques and protocols related to ocean acidification.

DATES:  November 2-13, 2009

LOCATION: Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Woods Hole, Massachusetts USA

PARTICIPANTS: 40 participants (U.S. and limited international participation); the course will target scientists at the postdoctoral and junior to mid-career faculty levels. Please note that due to the integrated nature of this course, all participants will be required to stay for the full duration of the course.

PARTICIPANT SUPPORT: We will provide local housing and meals, course materials, and use of MBL and WHOI facilities. Participants will be responsible for their own travel costs.

APPLICATION: Please visit http://www.whoi.edu/courses/OCB-OA to apply to participate in the short course. The application deadline is 1st September 2009. Participants will be notified by 15 September 2009.

COURSE CONTENT:  The course will be taught in four integrated segments, including lecture, laboratory, and field components as appropriate:

I. Measuring inorganic carbon parameters in seawater: Sample collection and measurement protocols, use of CO2SYS and seacarb programs

II. Ocean acidification experimental design: Manipulation of carbonate system parameters, monitoring of biogeochemical and organism (physiological and metabolic effects, calcification) response, and open-ocean and shallow benthic field experiment design

III. Modeling: State-of-the-art in biogeochemical-ecosystem modeling, including primer on use of global data sets and synthesis products and laboratory data in models

IV. Data reporting guidelines: Ocean acidification data reporting requirements and metadata guidelines