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Europe’s scientists call for more effort in tackling rising ocean acidity

Published 26 May 2010 Media coverage Closed

European Science Foundation presents ocean acidification report at EU Maritime Day 2010

Ten years ago, ocean acidification was a phenomenon only known to small group of ocean scientists. It’s now recognised as the hidden partner of climate change, prompting calls for an urgent, substantial reduction in carbon emissions to reduce future impacts.

The ‘Impacts of Ocean Acidification’ science policy briefing presented by the European Science Foundation on 20 May for European Maritime Day 2010 gives a comprehensive view of current research. Prepared by leading scientists from Europe and the USA, it highlights the need for a concerted, integrated effort internationally to research and monitor the effects of ocean acidification on marine environments and human communities.

The seas and oceans, which absorb almost a third of the greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, are rapidly becoming more acidic due to increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide produces carbonic acid when it dissolves in seawater and up to now, the oceans have buffered the effects of global warming by absorbing almost a third of the carbon dioxide emitted from human fossil fuel use. Today the oceans are more acidic than they have ever been for at least 20 million years. This chemical change could cause significant consequences to marine ecosystems and the goods and services that they provide.
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Oceana promotes marine wind power during European Maritime Day

Published 25 May 2010 Web sites and blogs Closed

The phenomenon of acidification brought on by the ongoing emission of CO2 into the atmosphere represents a serious threat to the lives of our oceans.

Madrid — In the process of decarbonizing our planet, marine energies are the key factor.

Oceana is participating in European Maritime Day celebrated in Gijón from May 18 to 20 to show what oceanic acidification is and to present renewable energies as one of the key factors to mitigate the impacts produced by climate change.

CO2 is not only a powerful greenhouse gas: it is the main cause of the phenomenon known as acidification. Oceans act like major CO2 drains. They reduce its concentration in the atmosphere and thus play a major role in mitigating climate change-associated impacts such as global warming. Nevertheless, due to the growing and continuous emission of CO2, this buffering effect threatens to alter the oceans chemistry. This has dire consequences for ecosystems and the oceans’ biodiversity.

“Since the beginning of the industrial age, the oceans have absorbed 30% of the C02 emissions and 80% of the heat generated by greenhouse gases”, explains Xavier Pastor, Executive Director of Oceana Europe. “This has brought about a reduction of marine pH by 0.1 units. If we continue emitting CO2 into the atmosphere at the current pace and intensity, by the end of the century, reductions in the pH of 0.3-0.4 units could be reached. This will be devastating for our oceans.”

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Ocean acidification in Alaska’s seas

Published 25 May 2010 Media coverage Closed

What is ocean acidification?

  • Carbon dioxide (CO2) occurs naturally in the atmosphere. Since the industrial revolution, human activities have increased the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. The ocean acts like a big sponge and absorbs about one third to one half of human-caused CO2 emissions.
  • When CO2 dissolves in seawater, it initiates a series of chemical reactions which release hydrogen ions. An increase in hydrogen ions decreases the pH of the seawater and makes the ocean more acidic. We call this process ocean acidification.
  • Scientists are concerned about ocean acidification because of the potential impact it has on organisms that form protective shells such as coral, calcifying phytoplankton, crabs, and other shellfish. Calcium in the shells of these organisms may corrode as CO2 levels in the water increase. Ecosystems may also change with ocean acidification. How or if organisms adapt to rapidly changing conditions is unknown.
  • Ocean acidification has been seen before in the geological record, however the rate at which it is currently being observed is 100 times faster than any change in acidity experienced by marine organisms for at least the last 20 million years.

Why is it a significant concern in Alaska’s seas?
Ocean acidification is expected to occur at an accelerated rate in the ocean at the high latitudes of Alaska, the Arctic, and the Antarctic. High-latitude waters are colder and absorb more CO2 so they are already more acidic than other areas of the ocean. Continental Shelf areas in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering and Chukchi Seas are highly productive during spring and summer, so they add additional, often large, pulses of CO2 to the ocean through the process of decomposition.These areas are also connected to global-scale deep currents that serve to concentrate CO2 from carbon emissions and other sources throughout the world over long periods of time. When the deep currents reach the shallow Continental Shelf areas, upwelling occurs and brings corrosive waters to the surface where the vast majority of marine life is concentrated.
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Make more efforts to tackle rising ocean acidity, say European scientists

Published 21 May 2010 Media coverage Closed

European scientists are calling for more efforts in tackling rising ocean acidity.

The ‘Impacts of Ocean Acidification’ science policy briefing presented by the European Science Foundation on May 20 for European Maritime Day 2010 gives a comprehensive view of current research.

Prepared by leading scientists from Europe and the USA, it highlights the need for a concerted, integrated effort internationally to research and monitor the effects of ocean acidification on marine environments and human communities.

The seas and oceans, which absorb almost a third of the greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, are rapidly becoming more acidic due to increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels.

Carbon dioxide produces carbonic acid when it dissolves in seawater and up to now, the oceans have buffered the effects of global warming by absorbing almost a third of the carbon dioxide emitted from human fossil fuel use.

Today the oceans are more acidic than they have ever been for at least 20 million years.
Continue reading ‘Make more efforts to tackle rising ocean acidity, say European scientists’

Cabled observatory technology for ocean acidification research

Published 21 May 2010 Science Closed

The burning of fossil fuels for energy production has produced cumulative emissions on the order of 1 trillion tons since the beginning of the industrial revolution. While approximately half of the CO2 has remained in the atmosphere, the ocean is the predominant repository for the remainder of these emissions. This has resulted in a lowering of the surface ocean pH by about 0.1 units and, if society is able to stabilize atmospheric CO2 levels at twice the pre-industrial concentration, will result in a lowering of surface ocean pH by 0.25 units. While some researchers are asking the question of whether we should pursue direct ocean CO2 sequestration, FOCE technology enables scientists to ask what the impact of this pH change will be on ocean biogeochemistry and ecology. In order to address this question, MBARI scientists and engineers have designed apparatus that enable small-scale in situ CO2 enrichment experiments to be carried out, in a manner analogous to the land-based Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) experiments. FOCE is a system that is configured around the science question(s) and is implemented to control pH within a fixed but freely exchanging volume of seawater. The technology uses control feedback and pH sensors to inject CO2 and create the future environment per science requirements. Other aspects of the FOCE design address the inherent time delays and natural background noise of the associated oceanic pH signal. We report recent progress on the design and testing of systems for carrying out controlled CO2 perturbation experiments on the sea floor with the goal of simulating the conditions of our future high CO2 world. Controlled CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiments have long been carried out on land to investigate the effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 levels on vegetation, but only limited work on CO2 enrichment on enclosed systems has yet been carried out in the ocean. With rising concern over the impacts of ocean acidification on marine life there is a n- eed for greatly improved techniques for carrying out in situ experiments, which can create a DeltapH of 0.3 to 0.5 by addition of CO2, on natural ecosystems such as coral reefs, cold water corals, and other sensitive benthic habitats. The FOCE system is now full scale and installed in deep waters in the Monterey Bay Canyon. FOCE is connected to the Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS) and enables scientists to control a variety of parameters while monitoring in situ ocean acidification experiments. This paper describes the enabling technologies for in situ ocean acidification experimentation. FOCE was originally designed for observatory science and cabled observatories in particular. This paper will discuss the technologies that enable observatory efforts in ocean acidification research. We also discuss the associated technologies that are useful to the greater science community in general. Furthermore the paper will conclude with the next phase of FOCE development and the exportation of the technology to a variety of ocean observatory systems. Details will outlined for a new FOCE system currently in concept design for installation on Heron Island as part of long term studies of the Great Barrier Reef.
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Anthropogenic climate change revealed by coral gray values in the South China Sea

Published 21 May 2010 Science Closed
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The authors analyze the coral growth band from a colony in the northwestern South China Sea. The coral growth band can provide comprehensive environmental information on climate. The trend from the two-century-long annual density of the coral is in a good agreement with that of the global CO2 concentration. Both trends were small prior to the end of the 19th century; after that, trends became clear, more so from the 1960s to the 1990s (the end of the coral record). The overall coral density shows a steady decrease from the late 19th century to the late 20th century. Therefore, the trend from the annual density of the coral reveals the history of the anthropogenic climate change, which is coherent with instrumental and other proxy records. We propose a simple coral-based proxy for reconstructing the anthropogenic climate change over the past two centuries.
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Protect our oceans from oil drilling’s invisible threat: acidification

Published 20 May 2010 Media coverage Closed

Act now to stop ocean acidification. The EPA is seeking your input on how to address ocean acidification — a process that opens the door to greater opportunities to regulate the emissions that are causing ocean acidification. It is extremely important that the EPA hears from you in support of protecting our oceans and coasts from acidification.

The oceans absorb about 22 million tons of CO2 pollution daily, causing seawater to become more acidic. Ocean acidification prevents crucial marine life such as plankton, shellfish, and corals from building the protective shells they need to survive. Scientists warn that if we do not rapidly reduce atmospheric CO2, our oceans will dramatically change and entire ocean ecosystems could unravel from the bottom up due to acidification. It’s not too late to act, but time is short.
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Polar trekkers and scientists complete baseline for Arctic Ocean acidification

Published 20 May 2010 Media coverage Closed

Sitting in a large hotel room in Ottawa, two of the three people who completed a Catlin Arctic Survey trek to the North Pole wore badges of their gruelling trip – frostbite scars on their faces. What kept them going to their polar destination said Ann Daniels, one of the trekkers, was the thought of the scientific value of the data they were collecting along the route. The three were holding a brief news conference before returning to England.

As the three team members walked an estimated 500 miles across the arctic ice they collected samples of Arctic Ocean water from eighteen different sites. Data from those sites will be put together with data from a static collection point north of Ellef Ringnes Island in the Canadian Arctic. Scientists, including one supported by WWF, used the camp as a place to sample water chemistry, and to gather samples of the building blocks of life in the Arctic Ocean, the tiny plants and animals known collectively as plankton.

All of this effort was being expended to create a starting point for knowledge about the effects of ocean acidification in the Arctic. Ocean acidification has been described as the evil twin of climate change. The build-up of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is changing water chemistry, making oceans more acid. Some important ocean life is unable to tolerate the more acid conditions that are predicted to arise as carbon dioxide levels continue to rise. Craig Stewart, Director of WWF Canada’s Arctic Programme, describes ocean acidification as “Probably the most insidious threat to the future of life in the Arctic.”
Continue reading ‘Polar trekkers and scientists complete baseline for Arctic Ocean acidification’

“Double trouble” in acidic, warming oceans – study

Published 20 May 2010 Media coverage Closed

Acidification of the oceans means “double trouble” for marine life from corals to shellfish since it is adding to stresses caused by global warming, a study showed on Wednesday.

“The oceans are more acidic than they have ever been for at least 20 million years,” according to the report by the European Science Foundation. On current trends, seas could be 150 percent more acidic by 2100 than they were in pre-industrial times.

Sea water is acidifying because carbon dioxide, released to the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels, is slightly corrosive in water. That makes it harder for creatures such as corals, lobsters, crabs or oysters to build their protective shells.

“Ocean acidification…is double trouble because it is happening on top of global warming,” Jelle Bijma, lead author of the report and a professor at the Alred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Germany, told Reuters.

“Coastal zones such as in the Mediterranean and North Seas are rich in calcifying organisms such as shellfish that may be particularly sensitive to large changes in carbon chemistry,” a statement said.
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Ocean acidification and surface water carbonate production across the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum

Published 20 May 2010 Science Closed
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The addition of massive amounts of carbon to the ocean–atmosphere system at the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM, not, vert, similar 55 Ma) caused deep-ocean acidification, evidenced by widespread dissolution of sea floor carbonate sediments. Because of the strong effect of this dissolution on the preserved record of calcium carbonate it has been difficult to evaluate whether changes in surface water chemistry affected carbonate production at the same time. Here, we investigate the production of biogenic carbonate in surface waters by testing a method which combines fossil calcareous nannoplankton counts with taxon-specific Sr/Ca data, an indicator of coccolithophore production. Reconstructed nannoplankton production at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 690 (Southern Ocean), 1209 (Pacific Ocean) and Bass River (New Jersey) did not appear to vary significantly across the PETM indicating that on geological timescales there is no evidence for interruption of phytoplankton carbonate production, despite the major assemblage shifts associated with this interval. Either levels of carbonate chemistry change in surface waters were relatively low, perhaps a function of CO2 emission rates, or calcareous nannoplankton were relatively insensitive to these changes compared with their response to other environmental parameters, namely temperature and nutrient availability.
Continue reading ‘Ocean acidification and surface water carbonate production across the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum’

Leading scientists call for more effort in tackling rising ocean acidity

Published 20 May 2010 Newsletters and reports Closed

ESF presents ocean acidification report at EU Maritime Day 2010

Ten years ago, ocean acidification was a phenomenon only known to small group of ocean scientists. It’s now recognised as the hidden partner of climate change, prompting calls for an urgent, substantial reduction in carbon emissions to reduce future impacts.

The ‘Impacts of Ocean Acidification’ science policy briefing presented by the European Science Foundation on 20 May for European Maritime Day 2010 is prepared by leading scientists from Europe and the USA and highlights the need for a concerted, integrated effort internationally to research and monitor the effects of ocean acidification on marine environments and human communities.
Continue reading ‘Leading scientists call for more effort in tackling rising ocean acidity’

Ocean acidification could cause loss of biodiversity in Barents Sea

Published 20 May 2010 Media coverage Closed
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The Barents Sea is particularly vulnerable to lowering pH levels and increasing acidification, say some scientists. Its cold water temperatures allow it to absorb greater amounts of CO2 than warm waters, meaning, the Barents Sea could acidify quicker than other water systems in the world, threatening biodiversity.

As a group of British scientists return from the North Pole with new data concerning the acidification of Arctic sea water, Nordic scientists at home are especially concerned about the direct effects on the Barents Sea.

Researchers with the Catlin Arctic Survey ventured north to collect the first ever water samples from the pole in order to study the rate of ocean acidification caused by rising CO2 levels. Cold waters absorb greater amounts of CO2 than warm waters, which consequently lowers the pH level and increases acidification.
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Guide to best practices for ocean acidification and data reporting now available online

Published 19 May 2010 Science Closed

Ocean acidification is an undisputed fact. The ocean presently takes up one-fourth of the carbon CO2 emitted to the atmosphere from human activities. As this CO2 dissolves in the surface ocean, it reacts with seawater to form carbonic acid, increasing ocean acidity and shifting the partitioning of inorganic carbon species towards increased CO2 and dissolved inorganic carbon, and decreased concentration of carbonate ion.

While our understanding of the possible consequences of ocean acidification is still rudimentary, both the scientific community and the society at large are increasingly concerned about the possible risks associated with ocean acidification for marine organisms and ecosystems. As this new and pressing field of marine research gains momentum, many in our community, including representatives of coordinated research projects, international scientific organisations, funding agencies, and scientists in this field felt the need to provide guidelines and standards for ocean acidification research.
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Boron isotopes in Southern Ocean deep sea corals

Published 18 May 2010 Science Closed
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Today the Southern Ocean is experiencing changes in carbonate chemistry with potential impacts on calcifying fauna. Similarly there were likely to have been large changes in pH in the past, associated with transient shifts in upwelling. Studying past changes in Southern Ocean carbonate chemistry, and its effect on calcifying organisms may help to better assess their fate in the light of anthropogenic ocean acidification.

Carbonate formed by marine organisms incorporates boron, and the speciation of boron and fractionation of its isotopes are sensitive to the pH of seawater. In order to test a new archive for past seawater pH we have analysed the boron chemistry of modern stylasterid corals collected from 130m to 2000m in the Drake Passage where there is a pH gradient with depth. Stylasterid corals have a global distribution and concentrically banded skeletons, but little is known about their growth rates or biomineralisation.

Boron concentrations range from ~60-160ppm and vary between species. The $11B values also show a large range, which again appear to be species dependent. Single species exhibit lighter values with decreasing pH (increasing water depth) similar to empirical calibrations of benthic foraminifera and theoretical predictions. The high boron concentrations provide the possibility of using these corals for ultra-highresolution reconstruction of deep and high latitude pH in the past, but will require analyses of additional modern samples to confirm the pH-boron calibration.
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The combined effects of ocean acidification, mixing, and respiration on pH and carbonate saturation in an urbanized estuary

Published 18 May 2010 Science Closed
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Puget Sound is a large estuary complex in the U.S. Pacific Northwest that is home to a diverse and economically important ecosystem threatened by anthropogenic impacts associated with climate change, urbanization, and ocean acidification. While ocean acidification has been studied in oceanic waters, little is known regarding its status in estuaries. Anthropogenically acidified coastal waters upwelling along the western North American continental margin can enter Puget Sound through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. In order to study the combined effects of ocean acidification and other natural and anthropogenic processes on Puget Sound waters, we made the first inorganic carbon measurements in this estuary on two survey cruises in February and August of 2008. Observed pH and aragonite saturation state values in surface and subsurface waters were substantially lower in parts of Puget Sound than would be expected from anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake alone. We estimate that ocean acidification can account for 24–49% of the pH decrease in the deep waters of the Hood Canal sub-basin of Puget Sound relative to estimated pre-industrial values. The remaining change in pH between when seawater enters the sound and when it reaches this deep basin results from remineralization of organic matter due to natural or anthropogenically stimulated respiration processes within Puget Sound. Over time, however, the relative impact of ocean acidification could increase significantly, accounting for 49–82% of the pH decrease in subsurface waters for a doubling of atmospheric CO2. These changes may have profound impacts on the Puget Sound ecosystem over the next several decades. These estimates suggest that the role ocean acidification will play in estuaries may be different from the open ocean.
Continue reading ‘The combined effects of ocean acidification, mixing, and respiration on pH and carbonate saturation in an urbanized estuary’

Carbon burial and benthic fluxes in coastal marine sediments: Model study and sensitivity analysis

Published 18 May 2010 Science Closed
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The response of calcareous coastal marine sediments to changes in ocean chemistry and productivity is not yet fully understood. The efficiency of seafloor carbon burial is nevertheless important to quantify in the context of ongoing ocean acidification. We developed a one-dimensional reactive transport model to study the effect of changes in particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) deposition fluxes on carbon burial efficiency in coastal sediments. The model incorporates the transport processes of sediment accumulation, advection, diffusion, bioturbation and bioirrigation with reactions including the redox pathways of organic carbon oxidation, re-oxidation of reduced nitrogen, iron and sulfur compounds, acid-base chemical equilibria, and dissolution of particulate inorganic carbon (calcite, aragonite, and Mg-calcite). The following processes are also included: precipitation of iron sulfide and iron carbonate, sorption of Fe (II), ammonium and phosphate, sulfidization of organic matter, and pyritization.
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Ocean acidification summary now available in French and Spanish

Published 17 May 2010 Web sites and blogs Closed

The summary for policymakers on ocean acidification, produced by IGBP, the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research, the International Oceanographic Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency, was recently translated into French and Spanish.
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Regulation of nitrogen metabolism in the marine diazotroph Trichodesmium IMS101 under varying temperatures and atmospheric CO2 concentrations

Published 17 May 2010 Science Closed
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We examined the influence of forecasted changes in global temperatures and pCO2 on N2 fixation and assimilation in the ecologically important cyanobacterium Trichodesmium spp. Changes of mRNA transcripts (nifH, glnA, hetR, psbA, psaB), protein (nitrogenase, glutamine synthetase) pools and enzymatic activity (nitrogenase) were measured under varying pCO2 and temperatures. High pCO2 shifted transcript patterns of all genes, resulting in a more synchronized diel expression. Under the same conditions, we did not observe any significant changes in the protein pools or in total cellular allocations of carbon and nitrogen (i.e. C : N ratio remained stable). Independently of temperature, high pCO2 (900 µatm) elevated N2 fixation rates. Levels of the key enzymes, nitrogenase and glutamine synthetase that mediate nitrogen assimilation did not increase, implying that the high pCO2 allowed higher reaction turnover rates through these key enzymes. Moreover, increased temperatures and high pCO2 resulted in higher C : P ratios. The plasticity in phosphorous stoichiometry combined with higher enzymatic efficiencies lead to higher growth rates. In cyanobacteria photosynthesis, carbon uptake, respiration, N2 fixation and nitrogen assimilation share cellular components. We propose that shifted cellular resource and energy allocation among those components will enable Trichodesmium grown at elevated temperatures and pCO2 to extend its niche in the future ocean, through both tolerance of a broader temperature range and higher P plasticity.
Continue reading ‘Regulation of nitrogen metabolism in the marine diazotroph Trichodesmium IMS101 under varying temperatures and atmospheric CO2 concentrations’

Postdoctoral research fellow in marine proteomics

Published 17 May 2010 Jobs Closed

£27,319 – £29,853 per annum

School of Ocean and Earth Science – National Oceanography Centre, Southampton

The School of Ocean and Earth Sciences is seeking to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in marine proteomics, to pursue research on the role of ocean acidification in controlling important biochemical processes in phytoplankton.

You will focus on the analysis of a wide range of novel proteins in coccolithophores and will work as part of a team conducting research in coccolithophore calcification.
The NOCS has a suite of state of the art facilities for phytoplankton culturing, proteomics research, flow cytometry and molecular biology. You will culture coccolithophores and examine their calcification and protein expression responses to altered CO2 levels. This work is being conducted at the NOCS involving a suite of efficient protein extraction protocols and a developed bioinformatics pipeline that allows the statistically robust assignment of proteins from MS/MS data using pre-existing EST sequences. The Research Group includes an active sea-going team, physiologists, molecular biologists and phytoplankton ecologists. The NOCS EPOCA extended team works closely with scientists at project partner institutions both in the UK and Europe.
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Ocean Voices: Will we let corals go the way of the dinosaurs?

Published 17 May 2010 Web sites and blogs Closed

“Coral reefs could be just the first major ecosystem type to be lost, with many others ready to fall like dominos behind them.” —Ken Caldeira

My passion for researching corals, then ocean acidification and now alternative energy approaches began with a look at the age of dinosaurs, 65 million years ago. My Ph.D. dissertation was largely about the stabilization of ocean chemistry after a meteorite killed off the dinosaurs along with most marine species. Organisms that made shells or skeletons out of calcium carbonate such as plankton and corals were particularly hard hit. It seems as if it took about 20,000 years for the ocean’s chemical balance to be restored, but carbonate-shelled plankton took about 500,000 years to rebound and it took about two million years for coral reefs to become widespread once again.
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