Ocean acidification

The ocean absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere which results in seawater becoming more acidic (lower pH). This increase in ocean acidity makes it difficult for some calcifying organisms (e.g. calcareous plankton, oysters, clams, corals, etc.) to make or maintain their shells or exoskelatons. Other important physiological processes of marine organisms can be disrupted by increased acidity as well. Many of the potentially impacted ocean plants and animals are important in marine food webs or are important commercial species.

Helmholtz – Young investigator groups

closing date 30th March 2012

The GEOMAR | Helmholtz-Centre for Ocean Research Kiel is a German “foundation under public law”, financed by both the Federal Republic of Germany and the State Schleswig-Holstein. GEOMAR is one of the leading international organisations in the field of marine sciences, with a current annual budget of about € 60 million and about 750 employees.

GEOMAR is calling for applications to establish Helmholtz – Young Investigator Groups in the following research area:

1. Molecular Microbiology
    Research Division 2 – Marine Biogeochemistry. Contact: Prof. Ulf Riebesell

The candidate shall apply innovative molecular tools ((meta)transcriptomics, proteomics) to investigate microbial responses to ocean change (e.g. ocean warming, acidification, deoxygenation) in the context of marine biogeochemistry (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus cycling). He/She should be prepared to develop novel strategies to bridge the gap between gene expression and metabolic activity of marine microbes, and present ideas on how molecular approaches can be used to help predicting ecosystem responses. We particularly welcome proposals addressing one of the following topics: expression of functional genes for the production or decomposition of organic matter, development of targeted molecular probes for genes of metabolic function, or interactions between microbial metabolic diversity and environmental variability.

EU support for mesocosm studies in 2012

The EU-supported MESOAQUA project has funding available for international involvement in mesocosm studies in 2012, either for participation in experiments already planned by others, or for development of new activities.   EU funding will cover researchers’ travel and accommodation,  technological support and some consumables. Either individuals or groups can apply. The deadline is 30 September 2011 and additional information is available at http://mesoaqua.eu

Dr. Elizabeth Jewett selected to lead NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program

Dr. Elizabeth (Libby) Jewett, a NOAA scientist with diverse science and management experience in ocean acidification and coastal hypoxia (low oxygen) research programs, will be the first director of NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program.

Established by Congress in 2009, the Ocean Acidification Program will plan and oversee a long-term coastal and open ocean monitoring program, lead research on the impacts of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems and the socioeconomic implications of these impacts. It will also provide educational opportunities to learn about this threat through national public outreach and coordinate activities with other agencies, nongovernmental groups and the international community.        

Ocean acidification is a change in the chemistry of the ocean that results in seawater becoming more acidic because the ocean is absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This increase in ocean acidity makes it difficult for many ocean plants and animals to make or maintain their shells or skeletons. According to NOAA’s Ocean and Great Lakes Acidification Research Plan, a more acidic ocean has the potential to seriously threaten the health of the world’s oceans and the significant economic benefit they provide to humans.

Jewett has led the nation‘s only two national hypoxia research funding programs as Hypoxia Research Program manager at the Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research in NOAA’s National Ocean Service. In this role, she has strived to make the funded science relevant to the management of coastal ecosystems, especially in the Chesapeake Bay and northern Gulf of Mexico. At the same time, she has taken leadership roles in NOAA-wide and interagency organizations focused on ocean acidification and its effect on ecosystems.

CIOCS Initiatives: Ocean acidification scientific advisory committee

Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions contribute to destabilizing ocean chemistry with potentially devastating consequences for human and national security. Ocean acidity has increased by almost 30 percent in the past few decades. Most probably, further significant rise in acidity will continue even if emissions stopped immediately. In its 2007 4th Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests “the conditions detrimental to high-latitude ecosystems will be reached in a few decades.” For example, if emissions continue unabated, 10 percent of the Arctic Ocean could cross the threshold by 2018, and 50 percent by 2050. These changes in ocean chemistry threaten the marine food chain from plankton and shellfish to herring and salmon. More species will be affected as acidification eventually spreads globally.

Food security and economic prosperity are intricately dependent on the ocean’s capacity to support fisheries and aquaculture. Overfishing already threatens fish stocks and coral reefs are bleaching at an unprecedented rate. The social and security impact will undoubtedly be global and in some geographies ecosystem degradation could become irreversible.

NSF grants will fund studies of ocean acidification

SAN DIEGO — With increasing levels of carbon dioxide accumulating in the atmosphere and moving into marine systems, the world’s oceans are becoming more acidic.

To address the growing concern of acidifying marine ecosystems, the National Science Foundation has awarded 21 grants, including awards to scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, under the Ocean Acidification theme of NSF’s Climate Research Investment. The projects will foster research on the nature, extent and effects of ocean acidification on marine environments and organisms in the past, present and future — from tropical systems to icy seas.

Important on-line survey on Ocean Acidification: please take part!

We are asking you to take part in an on-line survey and asking you to get as many of your colleagues to do likewise. This survey has been devised to support efforts underway led by a group of donors on behalf of the Consultative Group on Biological Diversity to determine message and communications strategies on ocean acidification, as well as to support the upcoming meeting of the Reference Users Group (RUG). The results from this survey will help inform our thinking on the Ocean Acidification Action Plan which is one of the main deliverable from the RUG meeting.

NSF funding: Ocean acidification

SYNOPSIS

Since the publication of The Royal Society’s report Ocean Acidification Due to Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (June 2005, www.royalsoc.ac.uk), there has been growing concern for the potential adverse impacts of a slowly acidifying sea upon marine ecosystems. In recognition of the need for basic research concerning the nature, extent and impact of ocean acidification on oceanic environments in the past, present and future, this announcement has the following broad goals:

• To understand the chemistry and physical chemistry of ocean acidification and, in particular, its interplay with fundamental biochemical and physiological processes of organisms;
• To understand how ocean acidification interacts with processes at the organismal level, and how such interactions impact the structure and function of ecosystems, e.g. through life histories, food webs, biogeochemical cycling, and other interactions;
• To understand how the earth system history informs our understanding of the effects of ocean acidification on the present day and future ocean.

Catlin Arctic Survey 2011 announcement of opportunity : UK

BACKGROUND
The Catlin Arctic Surveys undertake research into the changing Arctic environment, especially sea-ice and its relation to ocean/atmospheric systems. They offer unique services of logistics, infrastructure and expertise (particularly the extreme Winter/Spring environment) with potential for explorer scientist collaborations, to advance scientific understanding of this region. They also facilitate development of inter-disciplinary collaborations within the international scientific community. The communication of the Surveys to the wider public, including the environmental imperatives underpinning them, forms an integral part of the project plan.

So far, two Surveys have been undertaken. Further information about the 2010 Survey, which predominantly investigated ocean acidification (with supporting sea ice dynamics research), can be found within the pages of this website.

Ocean acidification program solicitation NSF 10-530

Synopsis of Program:

Since the publication of The Royal Society’s report Ocean Acidification Due to Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (June 2005, www.royalsoc.ac.uk), there has been growing concern for the potential adverse impacts of a slowly acidifying sea upon marine ecosystems. In recognition of the need for basic research concerning the nature, extent and impact of ocean acidification on oceanic environments in the past, present and future, this announcement has the following broad goals:

• To understand the chemistry and physical chemistry of ocean acidification and, in particular, its interplay with fundamental biochemical and physiological processes of organisms;
• To understand how ocean acidification interacts with processes at the organismal level, and how such interactions impact the structure and function of ecosystems, e.g. through life histories, food webs, biogeochemical cycling, and other interactions;
• To understand how the earth system history informs our understanding of the effects of ocean acidification on the present day and future ocean.