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International alliance to combat ocean acidification: advancing OA action plans to protect coastal communities and livelihoods from a changing ocean

Published 27 August 2018 Events , Meetings Leave a Comment

Date: 13 September 2018

Time: 7:30 am -10:30 am

Location: San Francisco Aquarium of the Bay

Event Details: Ocean acidity has increased by 30 percent and is expected to double over pre-industrial levels by the end of this century, as the ocean absorbs one-third of the carbon dioxide generated by human activities. Extensive field studies conducted worldwide already show significant impacts on fisheries and marine ecosystems from ocean acidification, which will worsen in the future.

To avert a larger crisis, the science is clear that we must act immediately to reduce carbon emissions. In 2015, 195 countries signed the historic Climate Agreement in Paris committing to meaningful action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification (OA Alliance) is building on this momentum by taking actions to protect the health of the oceans and address the impacts of ocean acidification on our economies and coastal communities.

The OA Alliance affiliate event- co-hosted in partnership with the Ocean Conservancy- will convene national, subnational and civil society leaders on ocean acidification who are working together to highlight the critical need for reducing carbon emissions and implementing actionable steps that support coastal communities impacted by changing ocean conditions through the creation of OA Action Plans.

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WESTPAC ocean acidification symposium, 5 November 2018 & fifth WESTPAC workshop on research and monitoring of the ecological impacts of ocean acidification on coral reef ecosystems, 6-7 November 2018

Published 4 July 2018 Meetings Leave a Comment

We are delighted to inform you that the 5th WESTPAC Workshop on Research and Monitoring of the Ecological Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Coral Reef Ecosystems (WESTPAC OA workshop) was scheduled for 6-7 November 2018, Xiamen, China. Preceding the OA workshop, a WESTPAC OA Science workshop will be held on 5 November 2018 in conjunction with the OA workshop. We would take this opportunity to extend our sincere appreciation to the Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration of China for hosing and its generous support to the two events.

As you are aware that WESTPAC has been committed to driving and coordinating the development of a sustained research and monitoring network on OA in the Western Pacific and its adjacent regions, as one regional component of the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON). In addition to featuring OA studies at the 9th and 10th WESTPAC International Marine Science Conferences (22-25 April 2014, Nha Trang, Vietnam & 17-20 April 2017, Qingdao, China), its on-going efforts focus on developing a programme to monitor the impacts of ocean acidification on coral reef ecosystems, mainly through a series of regional/national trainings & scientific workshops, the development of Standard Operating/Monitoring Procedures (SOPs) and their demonstrations at pilot sites, and transfer of knowledge and technology among experts, institutions and countries within and outside the region.

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Ocean acidification and deoxygenation session at PICES 2018 meeting

Published 17 May 2018 Meetings Leave a Comment

‘Ocean acidification and deoxygenation and their impact on ocean ecosystems: Synthesis and next steps’ – session at the PICES (The North Pacific Marine Science Organization) Annual Meeting, Yokohama, Japan, 25 Oct – 4 Nov 2018.

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Workshop on ocean acidification at 2018 ESSAS Annual Science Meeting

Published 26 April 2018 Meetings Leave a Comment

‘Ocean acidification and other climate stressors in high-latitude systems’ – workshop/session at the ESSAS (Ecosystem Studies of Subarctic and Arctic Seas) 2018 Annual Science Meeting, Fairbanks, Alaska, 12 – 14 June 2018.

Co-chairs: Samuel Rastrick, Kumiko Azetsu-Scott

The aim of the session is to highlight research on all aspects of acidification and climate change in northern ecosystems but particularly investigations utilising field experiments and/or natural gradients in carbonate chemistry and how such experiments could be applied in the study of northern ecosystems.

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The Ocean Acidification international Reference User Group releases a new Ocean Acidification guide

Published 20 March 2018 Education , Meetings Leave a Comment

The Ocean Acidification international Reference User Group (OA-iRUG) has just released a new guide for Latin America and the Caribbean. It provides an overview of why Ocean Acidification is an issue, how it will impact ecosystems, and gives examples of actions to address it. The guide was released during the first regional Latin American OA-iRUG meeting which is being held from 19 to 21 March 2018 at Invemar, in Colombia.

The meeting brought together stakeholders including both scientists and policy-makers such as HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, David Osborn, Director of the IAEA Environment Laboratories, Libby Jewett, Director of the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program, Kirsten Isensee, programme specialist at IOC-UNESCO, as well as Michelle Graco, co-chair of the Latin-American Ocean Acidification Network (LAOCA).

The OA-iRUG’s objective is to share scientific findings with non-scientific audiences and science end-users, in particular policy and decision-makers. It brings together scientists and stakeholders from various backgrounds such as industry, governmental and non-governmental organisations to facilitate the exchange of information and the presentation of key findings.

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Workshop on Durafet-based pH sensors highlights importance of collecting reference samples

Published 27 February 2018 Meetings , Science Leave a Comment
Tags: chemistry, methods

Ocean pH sensor technology has advanced quickly over the last few years. This is predominately driven by the integration of Honeywell™ Durafet® pH electrodes in oceanographic sensor packages. Durafets sensors contain Ion Sensitive Field Effect Transistor (ISFET) technology, which produces highly precise pH measurements in seawater. Precision is better than 0.005 units pH_T and stability of the calibration can be maintained for several months (Martz et al. 2010; Takeshita et al. 2014). These characteristics have made Durafet-based sensors popular among oceanographers and marine biologists alike.

Since 2010, multiple Durafet-based pH sensors have become commercially available. Sensors are currently used in estuarine, coastal, and deep-sea ecosystems, underway measurements, profiling floats, and laboratory-based ocean acidification experiments. Durafet-based sensors require specialized expertise for optimal operation and high-quality data acquisition (McLaughlin et al. 2017). The crux of data quality lies in the intricacies associated with calibration of these sensors. While commercial sensors have a factory calibration, this may not be accurate enough for certain marine applications (Figure 1). Most often, users need to perform a calibration using multiple, independent, seawater samples which are then analyzed for pH in the laboratory and used in data processing (Bresnahan et al. 2014). Using such reference samples for calibration, and following proper maintenance, a single SeaFET™ pH sensor can produce high-quality data for multiple years in a coastal environment (Kapsenberg et al. 2017a). Currently, data quality varies among user groups and is associated with experience level (McLaughlin et al. 2017). For this reason, hands-on training provides a beneficial supplement to recently published best practices (Bresnahan et al. 2014; Kapsenberg et al. 2017b; Rivest et al. 2016).

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‘Lessons from two high CO2 worlds’ symposium – abstract deadline extended and travel grants available

Published 16 February 2018 Meetings Leave a Comment

Abstract submission for the ‘Lessons from two high CO2 worlds – future oceans and intensive aquaculture’ symposium in Ponta Delgada, Azores, 10-12 April 2018, has been extended to Midnight (GMT) on 21 February 2018.

There is also an opportunity for students and early career scientists to apply for travel grants, ranging from £250 – £500, to support their attendance at the symposium. The deadline for travel grant application is 2 March 2018, and further information including eligibility criteria is available on the SEB website.

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