The Ocean Acidification Research for Sustainability (OARS) Outcome 7 is focused on policy engagement for ocean acidification. The Outcome 7 working group recently published a series of infographics on the following themes:
Ocean acidification as a risk to marine sectors and coastal communities
Ocean acidification information can support local actions
Global frameworks and national policies for taking action on ocean acidification
Sea-Bird Scientific has introduced the Deep SeapHOx™ V2. Designed for long-term deployments in diverse environments, from shallow regions to the deep ocean, this state-of-the-art multiparameter moored system integrates the Deep SeaFET™ V2 pH sensor with the tried-and-true SBE 37 SMP-ODO MicroCAT CTD+DO sensor. The result? A powerful tool for monitoring ocean acidification and other critical physical and biological processes.
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Applications and Case Studies
The Deep SeapHOx V2 is designed to support a wide range of oceanographic research and monitoring applications:
Carbon cycle analysis – track the movement and storage of carbon in the ocean to better understand the global carbon cycle.
Climate science – collect data on ocean temperature and salinity to contribute to climate models and predict future climate change scenarios.
Coral reef monitoring – investigate the conditions that support deep-sea coral ecosystems and assess their vulnerability to environmental changes.
Deoxygenation and hypoxia monitoring – measure dissolved oxygen levels to identify and study hypoxic zones, which can have significant impacts on marine life.
Fisheries and aquaculture – early warning and monitoring for critical marine resources that are sensitive to changing pH.
See why our oceans are turning acidic due to climate change.
This is an experiment which is hard to do at home and is best suited to laboratory conditions, where appropriate safety measures can be put in place. If you do not have the correct setting and equipment, we have produced a video of the experiment which you can find below.
Equipment
2l graduated cylinder
2ml potassium hydroxide (1M) or sodium hydroxide (1M)
1l water
25ml universal indicator
~10g dry ice
Method
Pour the water into the cylinder.
Add the potassium hydroxide(KOH) or sodium hydroxide. (NaOH) to the cylinder to make a dilute base.
Add 25ml of universal indicator to the cylinder. You should see the liquid turn blue/purple to reflect the basic pH. You will need to give the solution a stir.
Now gently add the dry ice into the cylinder. You should see gas bubbles rising through the solution, vapour at the top and the solution change colour to an orange/red colour.
So, what is happening here?
Dry ice is solid CO2.
As the dry ice is dropped in the liquid, it sublimates, going from a solid directly to a gas. This gas bubbles through the liquid, and the vapours you can see at the top.
The CO2 reacts with the water in the solution producing hydrogen, H+, ions.
The H+ ions produced, react with the hydroxide, OH–, ions in the base, producing water and acting to neutralise the solution.
H+(aq) + OH–(aq) → H2O(l)
However the universal indicator in solution ends up yellow, indicating the solution is a weak acid. This is because eventually there are no OH– ions left, and instead unreacted H+ remain in the solution, turning it acidic.
Optional extra: while the dry ice is still bubbling, you can add more potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide to the top of the cylinder, one pipette-full at a time. You should see the liquid temporarily returning to its purple colour, but then changing to yellow again as the carbon dioxide bubbles through.
Immersive environmental ‘Sketches of Sensorium’ are being screened at the AlloSphere at UCSB
I’m coasting along the ripples on the surface of the ocean and dive below, swimming through coral reefs and passing schools of fish. When I look up I can see the sun reflecting on the surface of the water, below me the sandy ocean floor and behind me the reef surrounds me.
But…I’m bone dry – because I’m doing all this…on dry land!
This is the AlloSphere. It’s a three-story metal sphere in an echo-free chamber. Think the Las Vegas Sphere but on a smaller scale.
Inside, screens fill my vision all around, as I am led on this immersive deep-sea dive by JoAnn Kuchera-Morin, the AlloSphere’s Director and a Professor of Media Arts and Technology.
“It’s where you can have a group of researchers, a group of people come in and actually experience virtual reality in a new and different way as a group user experience instead of putting a helmet on your head. You’re actually here in the space and we can bring in any space that you’d like to be in,” said Kuchera-Morin.
The AlloSphere will host a series of public screenings of Sketches of Sensorium – immersive films which seek to answer a question.
“What are the implications of what’s happening with climate change and ocean health?” said Kuchera-Morin. “And so what Sketches does is in the beginning you were looking at the earth and we were out from afar. And we have actually NASA’s science data on that earth that will show you temperature change, show you ocean acidification, and then we’ll zoom in to certain places in the ocean to show the ramifications of what’s happening.”
As well as the awe inspiring visuals, the immersive sounds of ship engine noises and other ocean sounds takes your senses to the environment it seeks to protect.
“Think about how we live on the planet. We use all of our senses in order to navigate through complex systems. All of our senses vibrate in frequency relationships. So we have an infrasound across between feeling and hearing,” said Kuchera-Morin.
There’s a sweet spot where art and science meet. And that’s right here, says Kuchera-Morin, in this innovative space which started as an educational tool and is now challenging visitors into new thinking, insight and action.
“We do research with our scientists, but it’s education among us, but it’s also education that anyone can start to understand. And that’s the whole idea of the AlloSphere, where if we can bring data up to human scale and we can work with that data and we can understand it in a way that you’re not going to get from reading a science paper or a textbook,” said Kuchera-Morin.
“We may find a different way to educate. These are the classrooms of the future, the immersive cinemas of the future, the interactive situations of the future. And as media artist, it’s all to be able to do the most important things that we believe are really important in this world. That’s compassion, that’s understanding one another, that’s equity, and that’s climate justice,” she said.
The Sketches of Sensorium at the Allosphere at UC Santa Barbara is open to the public on six Thursdays and Saturdays starting Thursday 12 September, and you need tosign up online in advance.
The ocean is getting more and more acidic. Can we solve it by emptying a giant bottle of antacid into the ocean? No… but the idea of lowering the ocean’s acidity in order to decrease global carbon dioxide levels isn’t all bad. Let’s dive into the science behind ocean alkalinization, and how it could be one part of a larger solution to our global climate crisis.
(a) The ocean carbonate system. (b) Alkalinity, total CO2, pH. (c) The effect of increasing atmospheric CO2 on ocean acidity and on calcium carbonate dissolution. (d) Long-term decline of anthropogenic CO2Continue reading ‘Ocean acidification (video)’
The ocean is getting more and more acidic. Can we solve it by emptying a giant bottle of antacid into the ocean? No… but the idea of lowering the ocean’s acidity in order to decrease global carbon dioxide levels isn’t all bad. Let’s dive into the science behind ocean alkalinization, and how it could be one part of a larger solution to our global climate crisis.
The Royal Society has produced a new set of videos and resources, presented by Professor Brian Cox, based around new and emerging STEM technologies. In this video, Brian joins a teacher to demonstrate an ocean acidification activity, including set-up, demonstration and the experiment being taught with a secondary science class.
The Royal Society has produced a new set of videos and resources, presented by Professor Brian Cox, based around new and emerging STEM technologies. In this video, we visit Dr Helen Findlay at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, researching the impacts of changing ocean conditions upon marine life. This video links to two others in the series including an ocean acidification classroom activity.
The Royal Society, via YouTube, 29 January 2024. Video.
The ocean has absorbed approximately 90% of excess heat and 25% of the carbon dioxide emissions released into the atmosphere by humans. This increased carbon pollution has consequences for our ocean.
Working together, the OA Alliance, Aquarium Conservation Partnership and NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program are advancing communications about climate-ocean changes occurring regionally in the U.S. by presenting localized information on unique impacts, responses, and calls to action taking shape across the country.
By regionalizing information and storytelling, “Exploring Our Changing Ocean: Impacts and Response to OA” is supporting education, outreach and calls to action that associated aquarium partners and science institutions can utilize across their larger climate change narratives and outreach efforts.
This expert talk is based on chapter 2 in The Ocean of Tomorrow teachers booklet, created by the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre and can be downloaded in the link below.
This short talk is perfect for teacher and student PD! Use the video as a stand-alone or together with the classroom activity demonstrated in The Ocean of Tomorrow: Activity 2B. Enjoy!
Welcome to our new Ocean Acidification series for teachers and students!
This expert talk is based on chapter 1 in The Ocean of Tomorrow teachers booklet, created by the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre and can be downloaded in the link below.
This short talk is perfect for teacher and student PD! Use it as a stand-alone or together with the classroom activity demonstrated in The Ocean of Tomorrow: Activity 1B. Enjoy!
Ocean Protector is a free online educational game that teaches students about the impacts of ocean acidification and how they can take action to prevent it.
Through a series of interactive decisions and evaluations, students will learn about the causes and effects of ocean acidification and evaluate solutions that can help reduce its impact on marine ecosystems and people.
This decision-driven experience helps students construct explanations, reason effectively, and become self-directed learners involving marine science and ocean literacy.
There’s a rising threat in our seas — ocean acidification.
But in the Pacific, patchy monitoring is making it hard for scientists to know where the worst effects will be felt, and which ecosystems need our support.
Tag along for a trip out to sea to meet a woman from the Solomon Islands who is tracking this looming danger in the Pacific Ocean.
Guest Dr Katy Soapi – Coordinator for the Pacific Community Centre for Ocean Science
Pacific Scientific is a co-production of ABC Science and ABC Radio Australia.
Date and time: Wed, May 10, 2023, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM CEST
Join the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program and NOAA Sanctuaries for our first SOARCE Webinar of the season! The Sharing Ocean Acidification Resources for Communicators and Educators webinar series provides ocean acidification communication tools to formal & informal educators, and stakeholders across the country.
On Wednesday, May 10th at 1pm EST, Dr. Emily Rivest and PhD candidate Abigail Sisti, from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, will be presenting two case studies on collaborative science education partnerships titled “Laboratory to Classroom Translation: Two Case Studies from the Lab and Field”.
Coral reefs are complex ecosystems made up of tiny coral polyps that provide shelter, food, and breeding grounds for a wide variety of marine life. They are incredibly diverse ecosystems, home to an estimated 25% of all marine species, and are essential for human well-being. However, coral reefs are under threat from human activities such as overfishing, pollution, and climate change. In this explainer, host Rakesh Kamal talks about coral reefs, the impact of climate change on them, and the need to protect them.
What is ocean acidification? Why is it happening? What is it so bad? How can we stop it?
My questions get answered with Dr. Jonathan Sharp, a marine biogeochemist and research scientist at the University of Washington Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies and part of the Global Observations of Biogeochemistry and Ocean Physics group at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle. […]
