Workshop on best practices for ocean acidification research planned

The need for standardized protocols and reporting of data has been highlighted at numerous ocean acidification workshops over the past few years. Common methods are crucial if we are to identify differences (or lack thereof) in calcification among various taxa, regions, and over time. It is also imperative that data be reported in a manner that will be comprehensible and accessible to scientists several decades from now if changes are to be detected. Specifically, the international research community needs to establish agreed protocols for calcification rate measurements and mesocosm / perturbation experiments, as well as for protocols for data reporting.

Action needed on ocean acidification

The world’s leading scientists in ocean acidification have released an open communiqué stating the issue is an urgent scientific and policy challenge.

The communiqué featured the deliberations of world experts at the ‘Ocean Acidification: Australian Impacts in the Global Context’ workshop sponsored by the Australian Department of Climate Change, held in June in Hobart by the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC).