A news stream provided by the Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre (OA-ICC)
‘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.
Continue reading ‘Ocean acidification and deoxygenation session at PICES 2018 meeting’
‘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 (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.
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 pHT 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).
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.
São Miguel, Azores, 10 – 12 April 2018
Registration and abstract submission now open. Deadline for abstract submission: 16 February 2018.
Exponentially rising CO2 (currently ~400 μatm) is driving climate change, and causing acidification of both marine and freshwater environments. Physiologists have long known that CO2 directly affects acid-base and ion regulation, respiratory function, and aerobic performance. More recently, many studies have demonstrated that elevated CO2 projected for end of this century (e.g. 800-1,000 μatm) has dramatic effects on behaviours linked to sensory stimuli (smell, hearing and vision), that have negative implications for fitness and survival. Some sectors of the aquaculture industry have been farming aquatic animals at extremely high CO2 levels (>10,000 μatm) long before the term “ocean acidification” was coined, with limited detrimental effects reported. It is vital to understand the physiological mechanisms behind this variability in resilience to high CO2. Potential explanations include: the relatively benign environment in aquaculture (abundant feed, disease and predator control); co-selection for CO2 -tolerance; high “control” CO2 levels in aquaculture studies. This symposium will highlight insights the two communities can offer from marine and freshwater settings. Bringing together climate change and aquaculture scientists will stimulate discussion on the direction of future research priorities and mitigation strategies to alleviate negative impacts of high CO2 on future aquatic ecosystems and the sustainable production of fish, invertebrates and algae in aquaculture.
Continue reading ‘Lessons from two high CO2 worlds – future oceans and intensive aquaculture’
Abstract submission deadline: 15 February 2018
May 8-10, 2018, Qingdao, China
The 3rd Open Science Symposium on Western Pacific Ocean Circulation and Climate (3rd OSS-2018) will be held on May 8-10, 2018 in Qingdao, China. This will provide a forum for oceanographers, meteorologists and climate scientists to exchange recent progresses in their study of the WPO circulation and climate and its generality/difference with other oceans, marine biogeochemistry and ecosystem, their variability, changes and impacts, to explore opportunities for international scientific collaboration, and to promote inter-disciplinary study in the WPO.
Session 5 is particularly relevant for the OA community.
