Ocean acidification

The Ocean Foundation has launched a new website that uses digital storytelling tools to engage users in learning about ocean acidification and encouraging them to get involved in the first OA Day of Action, on the 8th of January (8.1, for the pH of the ocean!)

The Baltimore based band Animal Collective took an interest in The Ocean Foundation’s efforts and wrote an exclusive song just for this website. The song, “Suspend the Time,” features sounds from coral reefs and is available for download exclusively through the OA Day of Action website.

Continue reading ‘The ocean acidification day of action’

To contribute to the goal related to ocean acidification described in SDG14, continuous accumulation of ocean pH data is needed. There is great need for quality instrumentation to assess and monitor slight changes in seawater pH. To meet this need, JAMSTEC and Kimoto Electric Co., Ltd., have developed an in situ highly accurate pH sensor (Hybrid pH sensor: HpHS) for long-term seawater pH monitoring. The HpHS has two types of pH sensors (i.e. potentiometric pH and spectrophotometric pH sensors). HpHS corrects the value of the potentiometric pH sensor (frequently measuring) by the value of the spectrophotometric pH sensor making it possible to calibrate in situ with a standard solution.

Continue reading ‘Development of a highly accurate pH sensor for monitoring ocean acidification’

Mote Marine Laboratory research in 2018 strengthened the concept that seagrasses could help protect nearby coral reefs from ocean acidification (OA), a chemistry shift occurring as part of global climate change.

The research, led by Mote Ocean Acidification Program Manager Dr. Emily Hall and in prep for submission to a peer-reviewed scientific journal,  examined coral physiology in the presence of seagrass in the lab and in the ocean.

Continue reading ‘End-of-year update: seagrass may help protect corals from ocean acidification, Mote science affirms’

The Ocean Acidification Community of Practice (OA CoP) was initiated in 2018 and is sponsored by the Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response (MEOPAR) Network. MEOPAR was established in 2012 and is supported by the Government of Canada through the federal Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) Program.

MEOPAR Communities of Practice (CoPs) bring together researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, and community members to share expertise, to learn, and to provide a space for discussion and co-production of knowledge. The OA CoP aims to inform MEOPAR, as well as individual researchers, about leading-edge developments for Ocean Acidification research in Canada as well as identify current gaps and opportunities for new research. The OA CoP strives to improve linkages and share knowledge between researchers, policy makers, First Nations groups, fishing and aquaculture industries, and Canadian citizens.

Continue reading ‘Ocean acidification: Canadian community of practice’

The North East Atlantic Ocean Acidification Hub is being established to serve European countries that are conducting monitoring, and other OA activities, within the NE Atlantic region. The Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON) has encouraged grass-roots formation of regional hubs to foster communities of practice for the efficient collection of comparable and geographically distributed data to assess ocean acidification and its effects and to support adaptation tools like model forecasts.

Countries within the region known to be engaged in OA research and/or with data submitted to the GOA-ON data portal: Belgium, Denmark, Faroe Islands, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, UK.

Continue reading ‘North East Atlantic hub of the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network’