Date: 24 February – 4 March 2022
Location: online
To present their work and explore emerging research on the ocean, a number of our scientists and staff are attending the virtual 2022 Ocean Sciences Meeting (OSM) from February 24 through March 4, 2022. This international meeting brings together scientists, educators, students, and other professionals for scientific exchanges about all aspects of marine sciences and oceanography.
Check out the topics below to learn more about some of the products and services that our scientists are highlighting at the meeting. Follow #OSM22 on social media for more updates on the Ocean Sciences Meeting.
NCEI Talks, Posters, and Presentations
Date: 4 March 2022
Time: 2:30 pm (EST)
Description:
Fixed time-series observations have been crucial in documenting changes in oceanic carbonate chemistry and long-term trends in ocean acidification (OA) resulting from the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Ocean Acidification Observing Network (NOA-ON) consists of open-ocean, coral reef, and coastal moored buoy stations deployed with autonomous sensors that provide high quality, continuous measurements of surface carbonate chemistry conditions. Here, we present a time-series analysis of the offshore California Current station (CCE1), the inshore California Current station (CCE2), and the Gulf of Maine station (GoM) to identify potentially stressful conditions with respect to OA. To assess seasonal variations in carbonate chemistry, we constructed daily and monthly climatologies of observed and derived parameters. Daily averaged derived carbonate parameters were compared to monthly climatological means to identify persistent periods of anomalously-low aragonite saturation state (ΩARAG) and pH conditions occurring throughout each time-series record. The inshore California Current station was found to be more dynamic than the offshore station, exhibiting frequent acidification stress events in both saturation state and pH. Further, the results indicate a pronounced seasonal variation in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and saturation state that reflect the influence of primarily biology and salinity dynamics. The Gulf of Maine exhibited sporadic, low-intensity events observed during the full deployment period of the buoy. We find no observed change in the frequency of stressful events over the time-series of the three stations, however, detecting such conditions requires continuous monitoring and longer time-series be maintained.
…
Time: 2:35 pm (EST)
Description:
Coastal carbonate chemistry is dynamic and driven by a large number of factors, often necessitating localized measurements to understand conditions at the small scales that are relevant for organisms that live in shallow or intertidal environments. Yet, human communities that rely on these nearshore natural resources for consumption, livelihoods, and cultural practices have limited tools to monitor local conditions to understand vulnerability to ongoing ocean acidification. The pCO2 to Go is hand-held, low-cost analyzer that can be deployed in nearshore environments and in coastal spaces such as hatcheries to measure pCO2. With equilibrator options that allow for measurements to be made directly at the surface as well as from seawater samples, this system can be used in a number of environments that cannot currently be captured by complementary, long-term monitoring stations. Access to and training with this analyzer system will empower hatcheries who have many factors to consider during production–temperature, food availability, oxygen–to more easily monitor the saturation state of incoming seawater, then use regional knowledge of alkalinity characteristics and the included manipulation application to buffer tanks as needed. The analyzer, application, and methodology are currently being tested at shellfish hatcheries that include the Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute. Additionally, users who pair the pCO2 to Go with other measurements to constrain the carbonate chemistry system can contribute valuable coastal data to increase spatial coverage as well as research understudied habitats, such as clam gardens. Low-cost, portable tools such as the pCO2 to Go are needed to help stakeholders adapt to changing ocean conditions while providing opportunities to address data gaps, benefitting coastal models, vulnerability assessments, and other products.
…
Time: 2:40 pm (EST)
Description:
This collaborative social-ecological research effort, developed through a place-based, transdisciplinary approach to assess ocean acidification vulnerability on a regional scale, has yielded unique and actionable oceanographic results. Our study area, the Olympic Coast of Washington State, has been home for millennia to four coastal treaty tribes, and is already experiencing effects of ocean acidification, hypoxia, and marine heatwaves, which pose risks to marine resources that coastal communities and tribes depend on for their well-being. We brought together a variety of biophysical and social data across ocean spatial gradients and human systems to better understand the whole, to anticipate the effect of cumulative stressors, and to outline adaptive responses for healthy and resilient communities. Our place-based approach to assess regional vulnerability follows a process involving social and oceanographic steps: scope local risk and priority needs; understand social importance of marine species; analyze variability in chemical and biological data; project future ocean conditions; assess frequency, duration, and location of harmful oceanographic events; evaluate risks to resources important to community partners; analyze socioeconomic conditions; assess social vulnerability to OA; identify community-driven strategies to respond to threats and increase adaptive capacity; provide critical information to decision-makers to prepare for and respond to OA vulnerabilities; monitor, evaluate, and reiterate. In this talk we present the oceanographic, biological, and risk assessment results, which were focused by the input of the tribal communities.
…
NOAA, 24 February 2022. More information.
