Ocean acidification (audio)

Too much carbon is flooding the ocean with carbolic acid, with devestating effects on life in the sea.

A stand-alone segment of the Planet Warning series. Each segment can be downloaded separately. The series theme is that the world is in a dangerous position, just as the US was when it was bombed at Pearl Harbor. Each segment is embedded in WWII audio and music. This segment reports on “global warming’s evil twin”, ocean acifidication, which results from too much carbon in the water.

NOAA lecture series: Ocean acidification

Wednesday, Nov 10 7:00p

at Seattle Center: Pacific Science Center, Seattle, WA

Did you know that carbonated water is more acidic than tap water?

Ever wonder what would happen if Puget Sound were carbonated?

Although Puget Sound is not fizzing like a soda pop it does have more Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in it than it has in thousands of years. Too much CO2 in the atmosphere is not only warming the planet, it is making the Ocean more acidic.

What is Ocean Acidification? What does it mean for you and ocean life? Join Dr. Simone Alin and Dr. Paul McElhany to find out what they know about ocean acidification and how it impacts ocean life.

Experiment looks for shell fishing’s future in changing ocean (audio)

Baby oysters could be the “canaries in the mine shaft” for another dimension of global warming. That from Northwest scientists who are studying how the oceans suck in excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The process changes seawater chemistry — locally and globally. Correspondent Tom Banse reports on an experiment now underway in Seattle to find out which sea critters can or can’t cope.

A major CO2 perturbation experiment in the Arctic Ocean by EPOCA

Jean-Pierre Gattuso, gattuso@obs-vlfr.fr, Oceanographic laboratory of Villefranche (LOV), France
Lina Hansson, hansson@obs-vlfr.fr, Oceanographic laboratory of Villefranche (LOV), France

EPOCA Project Office
Web: http://epoca-project.eu

EPOCA is now mid-way, with the first two years of the project completed. We provide here a concise update on its recent activities and products.

Research activities
EPOCA research activities cover the chemical, biological, ecological and biogeochemical consequences of ocean acidification. These activities are too numerous to be listed here. One of the key experiments involved a group of 35 researchers who have just performed the first major CO₂ perturbation experiment in the Arctic Ocean. With the goal to determine the response of Arctic marine life to the rapid changes in ocean chemistry, nine mesocosms were deployed in the Kongsfjord off the north-western coast of Spitsbergen (Svalbard; Photo). Each of the giant, 17 m long ‘test tubes’ held about 50m³ of seawater. The enclosed plankton community was exposed to a range of different CO₂ levels expected to develop between now and the middle of the next century and was closely monitored over a 6-week period. The experiment involved molecular and cell biologists, marine ecologists and biogeochemists, as well as ocean and atmospheric chemists. More information is available on a dedicated blog.