Photo credit: Vera Shi
The IAEA/OA-ICC Training Course on Best Practices in Ocean Acidification Research, organized in partnership with the State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science (Xiamen University, China), took place on 19-23 October 2015.
Twenty eight scientists from 10 IAEA Asian Member States participated in the course, which aimed to provide an introduction to both monitoring and experimental ocean acidification studies, with special focus on methods and potential pitfalls. It also looked to encourage networking and familiarize participants with existing international cooperation opportunities and resources in the field of ocean acidification.
Photo credit: Vera Shi
Lecturers included Dr Lisa Robbins (Geological Survey, USA), and OA-ICC Focal Point for Capacity Building, Dr Andrew Dickson (Scripps Institution of Oceanography), Dr Sam Dupont (University of Gothenburg, Sweden), and Dr Helen Findlay (Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK). The emphasis of the training course was on the practical aspects of experimental set-up, pertinent data collection and data interpretation. Acquaintance with instrumentation was facilitated during group assignments. Particular attention was given to methodology for the measurement of biological responses to ocean acidification (e.g. respiration, calcification), including the application of nuclear and isotopic techniques. A field trip to Dongshan Island gave participants an overview of the local aquaculture industry. Participants also had the opportunity to interact with local decision makers and aquaculture managers.
One of the participants described the training course as “an eye-opener for freshmen in this field”, allowing them to address many of the difficulties associated with ocean acidification research design and to deepen their understanding of various concepts and techniques.
Training course materials will be available on the OA-ICC website shortly.
