There will be a session on the “Physico–chemical aspects of ocean acidification in the ICES area” at the ICES Annual Science Conference in Reykjavik (Iceland), 23-27 September 2013 .
Theme Session D
Physico–chemical aspects of ocean acidification in the ICES area
Conveners:
David J. Hydes, UK (david.hydes(at)noc.ac.uk)
Jon Olafsson, Iceland (jon(at)hafro.is)
Alberto Vieria Borges, Belgium (alberto.borges(at)ulg.ac.be)
Ocean acidification is a result, primarily, of uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air arising from human activities. This leads to a change of carbonate chemistry in the earth’s oceans: decrease of pH, decrease of CO3‐ ‐
concentrations, decrease of calcite and aragonite saturation levels, and increase of CO2 concentrations. These changes are expected to negatively affect calcium carbonate‐building organisms. This potential threat is widely recognised and organisations such as regional sea conventions (e.g. OSPAR) are as a matter of high priority considering how best to approach monitoring ocean acidification. Regional differences are likely to be large and coastal and shelf regions are likely to show the largest deviation from projected average trends. Furthermore, time‐series and basin‐scale measurements and models, of the carbonate system, indicate that surface water pH varies substantially ‐ seasonally, interannually and decadally. For acidification research, these observations are important to establish natural variations because their magnitude sets a boundary for what might constitute damaging pH change. The theme session will also cover technical and methodological aspects of monitoring ocean acidification, including quality assurance issues.
More information
http://www.ices.dk/news-and-events/Documents/ASC%202013/TS-D.pdf
