The issue of ocean acidification gained some traction this week
in the U.S. House of Representatives, where bipartisan support led
to the approval of four bills designed to bring new ideas into the
battle to save sea life from corrosive waters.
If passed by the Senate, the legislation would allow federal
agencies to set up competitions and offer prize money for the best
ideas for reducing ocean acidification, adapting to ongoing changes
or solving difficult research problems. The bills also foster
discussions about climate change by bringing more people to the
table while providing increased attention to the deadly conditions
that are developing along the coasts and in estuaries, such as
Puget Sound.
U.S. Rep. Derek
Kilmer
“We know that changing ocean chemistry threatens entire
livelihoods and industries in our state, said U.S. Rep. Derek
Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, in a
press release. “There are generations of folks in our coastal
communities who have worked in fishing and shellfish growing — but
that’s endangered if we don’t maintain a healthy Pacific
Ocean.”
Later in this blog post, I will reflect on other
Kilmer-related issues, including the so-called Puget Sound Day on
the Hill.
In a phone conversation, Rep. Kilmer told me that he was
encouraged with the widespread support for a bill that he sponsored
called the Ocean
Acidification Innovation Act of 2019 (HR 1921), which passed
the House on a 395-22 vote. The bill would allow federal agencies
to sponsor competitions and offer prize money for the best ideas.
Money would come out of existing funds that agencies use for
related purposes. The bill was co-sponsored by Northwest Reps.
Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, along with Rep. Suzanne
Bonamici, an Oregon Democrat, and Rep. Don Young, an Alaskan
Republican. Five representatives from coastal areas in other parts
of the country added their names to the bill.
“There is a legitimate problem, and people are beginning to see
the impacts of the changing ocean chemistry,” Derek said. “This
should a bipartisan issue.”
Understanding the chemistry of Puget Sound may be as important
as understanding the biology. Let me put that another way: Biology
as we know it in Puget Sound wouldn’t exist without the right
chemistry.
Tiny krill, one of many
organisms affected by ocean acidification, demonstrate how water
chemistry can affect the entire Puget Sound food web. For example,
krill are eaten by herring, which are eaten by Chinook salmon,
which are eaten by killer whales.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Ocean acidification is altering the chemistry of the oceans on a
worldwide scale, but the Pacific Northwest and Puget Sound are
being hit with some of the most severe problems, as experts point
out in a new report by the Washington
State Marine Resources Advisory Council.
For years, I have written about the low-oxygen problems in Hood
Canal and other areas of Puget Sound. Of course, oxygen is
essential to life as we know it. Major fish kills, in which dead
fish float to the surface, have generated a lot of attention. At
the same time, it has been harder to report on the animals dying
from lack of oxygen when their carcasses are at rest in deep water.
And it has been nearly impossible to keep track of the “dead zones”
that come and go as conditions change.
It wasn’t until more research was conducted on the effects of
ocean acidification that researchers realized that low-oxygen
conditions — which were bad enough — had a dangerous companion
called low pH — the increased acidity that we are talking about.
Low pH can affect the growth and even the survival of organisms
that build shells of calcium, including a variety of tiny organisms
that play key roles in the food web.
As the oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the air, we see an
increase in carbonic acid in the water, which has an effect on the
ability of organisms to take up calcium carbonate. For a more
complete explanation, check out “What is aragonite saturation?” on
page
17 of the report.
Increased acidification is a special problem for Washington and
the West Coast of North America, where deep acidified water in the
Pacific Ocean hits the coast and rises to the surface.
“By accident of geography, we have this upwelling that … forces
us into dealing with ocean acidification before almost anywhere
else on the planet,” said Jay Manning, chairman of the Puget Sound
Leadership Council. “I don’t believe I’m exaggerating when I say
that Washington is leading the world in terms of science and
monitoring…”
Jay, who serves on the Marine Resources Advisory Council, was
quoted in a story I wrote for the
Puget Sound Institute, later republished by the
Kitsap Sun. The story describes some of the problems resulting
from ocean acidification in Puget Sound, where an entirely
different mechanism connects ocean acidification closely to
low-oxygen conditions.
Researchers have concluded that an excessive growth of plankton
in Puget Sound can be triggered, in part, by the release of
nutrients from sewage treatment plants, septic systems and the
heavy use of fertilizers. When plankton die and decay, bacteria use
up oxygen while releasing carbon dioxide, thus increasing
acidification.
Although the details still need to be sorted out, it is clear
that some creatures are more sensitive than others to low oxygen,
while low pH also affects animals in different ways. This “double
whammy” of low oxygen and low pH increases the risks to the entire
food web, without even considering the added threats of higher
temperatures and toxic pollution.
Ongoing actions emphasized in the new report fall into six
categories:
Reduce carbon emissions
Cut back on nutrient releases into the water
Improve adaptation strategies to reduce the harmful effects of
ocean acidification
Invest in monitoring and scientific investigations
Inform, educate and engage Washington residents and key
decision makers
Maintain a coordinated focus on all aspects of ocean
acidification
“The updated report reinforces our federal, state and tribal
partnership to combat ocean acidification by working together,
modifying and expanding on approaches we have developed through
ongoing research,” said Libby Jewett, director of NOAA’s Ocean
Acidification Program in a news
release (PDF 166 kb).
“For instance,” she continued, “in the new plan, scientists in
the state of Washington will be asked not only to test hands-on
remediation options which involve cultivating kelp as a way to
remove carbon dioxide from local waters but also to explore how to
move this seaweed into land agriculture as a way of recycling
it.”
“Global and local carbon dioxide emissions, as well as local
nutrient sources beyond natural levels, are significantly altering
seawater chemistry. We are the cause for the rapid accumulation of
30 to 50 percent of the enriched CO2 in surface waters in Puget
Sound and 20 percent of enriched CO2 in deep waters off our shores.
Washingtonians understand what is so dramatically at stake. We are
not standing by waiting for someone else to inform or rescue
us.”
Our native Olympia oyster may seem small and meek, but its
slow-growing nature may serve it well under future conditions of
ocean acidification, according to a new study.
Olympia oysters //
Photo: Wikimedia commons
In fact, the tiny Olympia oysters appear to reproduce
successfully in waters that can kill the offspring of Pacific
oysters — a species that grows much larger and provides the bulk of
the commercial oyster trade in Washington state.
Unlike Pacific oysters, Olympias don’t begin forming their
shells until two or three days after fertilization, and the
formation progresses slowly, helping to counteract the effects of
corrosive water, according to the author of the new study, George
Waldbusser of Oregon State University.
Betsy Peabody of Puget Sound Restoration Fund said people who
work with Olympia oysters have long suspected that they may have
some advantages over Pacific oysters. Olympia oysters keep their
fertilized eggs in a brood chamber inside the shell until the
larvae are released into the water about two weeks later.
In contrast, the eggs of Pacific oysters are fertilized in the
open water and the resulting larvae must fend for themselves right
away.
While the brood chamber may protect the larvae from predators,
the new study showed that the brood chamber does not protect
against ocean acidification. Corrosive water still circulates
through the mother’s shell, exposing the larvae.
To test how Olympia oysters would do in open waters, the
researchers grew baby oysters outside the brood chamber where they
were exposed to acidified water, noted Matthew Gray, a former
doctoral student in OSU’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. He
is now conducting research at the University of Maine.
“Brooding was thought to provide several advantages to
developing young, but we found it does not provide any
physiological advantage to the larvae,” Gray said in an
OSU news release. “They did just as well outside the brood
chamber as inside.”
It appears that a major difference in the development of Pacific
and Olympia oysters lies in their reproductive strategies,
including differences in managing their energetics.
“Pacific oysters churn out tens of millions of eggs, and those
eggs are much smaller than those of native oysters, even though
they eventually become much larger as adults,” Waldbusser said.
“Pacific oysters have less energy invested in each offspring.
Olympia oysters have more of an initial energy investment from Mom
and can spend more time developing their shells and dealing with
acidified water.”
The research team found that energy stores in young Pacific
oysters declined by 38.6 percent per hour, compared to 0.9 percent
in Olympia oysters. Pacific oysters put their energy into building
their shells seven times faster than Olympia oysters. The exposure
to acidified water affects shell development. While the larval
oysters may get through the shell-building stage, they often don’t
have enough energy left to survive, Waldbusser said.
Puget Sound
Restoration Fund has been working for nearly 20 years to
restore Olympia oysters at 19 priority locations throughout Puget
Sound. The new study lends credence to the effort and support for a
recommendation by the 2012 Blue
Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification. The panel called for
restoring the native oyster to Puget Sound to build resilience into
the ecosystem, according to Betsy Peabody.
“It was a recommendation that came out before we had the
critical science to support it,” Betsy told me. “He (Waldbusser)
has just given us the underlying research that supports that
recommendation. Our grandchildren may be cultivating Olympia
oysters rather than Pacific oysters.”
The panel, appointed by former Gov. Chris Gregoire, called for
maintaining the genetic diversity of native shellfish to provide
the species a fighting chance against ecological changes brought on
by climate change.
Benefits of the Olympia oyster, including so-called ecosystem
services, are described in an article by Eric Wagner in the
Encyclopedia
of Puget Sound. Healthy oyster reefs offer benefits such as
cleaning up the water, protecting shorelines from erosion and
increasing habitat complexity, which can expand the diversity of
sea life.
So far, Puget Sound Restoration Fund has restored 50 acres of
shellfish to Puget Sound, working toward a goal of restoring 100
acres by 2020.
Oyster hatcheries in Washington state underwent a temporary
crisis a few years ago when Pacific oyster larvae were dying from
acidified seawater pumped into the hatcheries. The water still
becomes hazardous at times, but careful monitoring of pH levels has
allowed hatchery operators to overcome the problem. When the water
in an oyster hatchery moves beyond an acceptable pH level,
operators add calcium carbonate to alter the pH and support the
oyster larvae with shell-building material.
Bill Dewey of Taylor Shellfish Farms said older oysters might be
affected in the future as ocean acidification progresses. “We know
things are going to get worse,” he told me.
Because of their small size and high cost of production, Olympia
oysters will never overtake the Pacific oyster in terms of market
share, Bill said, but they are in high demand among people who
appreciate the history of our only native oyster and its unique
taste.
The new research by Waldbusser raises the question of whether
the highly commercial Pacific oysters could be bred so that their
larvae grow slower and perhaps overcome the effects of ocean
acidification.
Joth Davis, senior scientist for Puget Sound Restoration Fund
and senior researcher for Taylor Shellfish, said the market is
strong for a smaller Pacific oyster, so most growers would not
object to one that grows more slowly with greater survival.
Meanwhile, efforts are underway to maintain the genetic
diversity of Olympia oysters and other native species, as growers
begin to think about cultivating more natives. Transplanting
species from one area to another and boosting their populations
with hatcheries creates a potential to override local populations
and weaken overall genetic diversity, Joth said.
Geoduck clams, which can be started in hatcheries and grown on a
large scale, don’t appear to be genetically distinct from one place
to another in Puget Sound, Joth said.
Researchers have found some evidence that Olympia oysters may be
genetically distinct when comparing one area of Puget Sound to
another. But finding genetic differences does not always mean the
population is uniquely adapted to that area, Joth said. Variations
might relate to a random population that settles in a specific
location. Sometimes it takes careful study to make sense of the
differences.
Rich Childers, Puget Sound shellfish manager for the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the state currently has no
firm rules for transferring native species from one place to
another. With growing interest in cultivating Olympia oysters, sea
cucumbers and other native species, the agency is opening
discussions about what kind of controls might be needed.
“We’ve learned lessons from salmon that you can’t spread
everything from hell and gone,” Rich said. “Should we be looking at
some management or hatchery guidelines that would help maintain
genetic diversity? Should we have laws or policies? These are the
questions that are just starting to surface.”
A major study of ocean acidification along the West Coast is
underway with the involvement of 17 institutions, including 36
scientists from five countries.
NOAA’s Research Vessel Ronald
H. Brown
NOAA photo
Based aboard the NOAA Research Vessel Ronald H. Brown, the
researchers are taking physical, chemical and biological
measurements as they consider a variety of ecological pressures on
marine species. They will take note of changes since the last
cruise in 2013. To obtain samples from shallow waters, the
researchers will get help along the way from scientists going out
in small vessels launched from land. Staff from Olympic National
Park, Channel Islands National Park and Cabrillo National Monument
will assist.
The cruise started out last Thursday from San Diego Naval Base.
Researchers have been posting information about the trip and their
work on a blog called “West Coast Ocean
Acidification.”
The month-long working adventure is the fifth of its kind in
areas along the West Coast, but this is the first time since 2007
that the cruise will cover the entire area affected by the
California Current — from Baja California to British Columbia. The
video shows Pacific white-sided dolphins as seen from the deck of
the Ron Brown on Monday just west of Baja California.
As on cruises in 2011–2013, these efforts will include studies
of algae that cause harmful blooms, as well as analyses of pteropod
abundance, diversity, physiology, and calcification, said Simone
Alin, chief scientist for the first leg of the cruise.
“We are pleased to welcome new partners and highlight new
analyses on this cruise as well,” she continued in
her blog post. “For example, some of our partners will be
employing molecular methods (proteomics, genomics, transcriptomics)
to study the response of marine organisms to their
environments.
“We also have scientists studying bacterial diversity and
metabolic activity in coastal waters participating for the first
time. New assays of stress in krill and other zooplankton —
important fish food sources — will also be done on this cruise.
Last but not least, other new collaborators will be validating
measurements of ocean surface conditions done by satellites from
space.”
To learn how satellites gather information about the California
Current, check out
Earth Observatory.
The research crew takes water
samples using the CTD rosette off the coast of Baja California.
Photo: Melissa Ward
With rising levels of carbon dioxide bringing changes to waters
along the West Coast, researchers are gathering information that
could help predict changes in the future. Unusually warm waters in
the Pacific Ocean the past two years (nicknamed “the blob”) may
have compounded the effects of ocean acidification, according to
Alin.
Reading the cruise blog, I enjoyed a
piece by Melissa Ward, a doctoral candidate in the Joint
Program in Ecology from UC Davis and San Diego State University.
Her story begins:
“As I prepared to leave for the West Coast OA research cruise,
many family and friends skipped right over the ‘research’ part, and
jumped straight to ‘cruise’. But to their disappointment, the
photos of me sitting by the pool drinking my margarita will never
materialize.
“The Ron Brown, our research vessel, does have two lounge chairs
on the main deck, but they are strapped down to keep them from
flying off as we go tipping back and forth with the ocean swells.
Immediately after boarding the ship for departure from San Diego to
Mexico, you have to start adjusting to this never-ending sway.
After some stumbles and falls (which I’m certain the crew found
entertaining), you get used to the motion, and can at least
minimize public clumsiness.”
Brandon Carter, mission scientist on the cruise, provides a
delightful primer on the pros and cons of carbon dioxide in a
blog entry posted Tuesday, and Katie Douglas , a doctoral
student at the University of South Florida’s College of Marine
Science posted a
blog entry yesterday in which she discusses the CTD rosette, a
basic piece of oceanographic equipment used to continuously record
conductivity (salinity), temperature and depth as it is lowered
down into the ocean. The remote-controlled device can take water
samples at any level.
In 50 years, Puget Sound residents will see mostly the same
plants and animals they see today, but some changes can be
expected. Our favorite species may disappear from places where they
are now common.
Climate change is expected to bring higher temperatures, shifts
in precipitation patterns, rising sea levels and ocean
acidification. Some species will no doubt cope where they are. Some
will not. Some could move to more hospitable locales, perhaps
farther north or to higher elevations in the mountains.
“There are going to be some winners and some losers,” research
biologist Correigh Greene told me. His comment seemed to sum up the
situation nicely, and I used this quote in the final installment of
a three-part series I wrote for the
Puget Sound Institute and the Encyclopedia of Puget Sound.
What stands out in my mind is how Puget Sound’s food web could
be disrupted in unexpected ways. For example, tiny shelled
organisms — key prey for many fish species — are already dying
because they cannot form healthy shells. And that’s just one effect
of ocean acidification.
The observations mentioned in my story and in the report itself
come from a variety of experts who understand the needs of various
species — from those that live in the water to those dependent on
snow in the mountains. What will actually happen on the ground
depends on many variables — from the buildup of greenhouse gases to
changing trends such as El Nino.
As things are going, it appears that this year will be the
warmest on record. The global average surface temperature is
expected to reach the symbolic milestone of 1 degree Celsius above
the pre-industrial era, according to the World Meteorological
Organization. The years 2011 through 2015 have been the warmest
five-year period on record, with many extreme weather events
influenced by climate change, according to a
five-year analysis by WMO.
The new report from the Climate Impacts Group discusses various
scenarios based on total emissions of greenhouse gases. High
scenarios presume that emissions will continue as they are now. Low
scenarios presume that people will dramatically reduce emissions.
What will actually happen is unpredictable at this time.
Greenhouse gas emissions are used to predict carbon dioxide
concentrations in the atmosphere, ultimately pushing up the average
global temperature. The first graph below shows the range of annual
emissions (in gigatons of carbon) depicted by the various
scenarios. The next graph shows how the emissions translate into
atmospheric concentration. One can take any of the scenarios and
see how the levels translate into temperatures at the end of the
century. For a more complete explanation, go to page 19 of the
report, where these graphs can be found.
Ocean acidification is hitting Washington’s shellfish industry
even before we begin to experience the full effects of climate
change, and Gov. Chris Gregoire placed this state in the forefront
of action Tuesday when she signed an executive order on the
issue.
The order supports the findings of the governor’s Blue Ribbon
Panel on Ocean Acidification. Check out the story I wrote for
yesterday’s Kitsap Sun.
The panel released the report during an hour-long presentation
of the findings. If you have time, I recommend watching the
informative presentation, provided by TVW in the player at
right.
The executive summary of the report, as well as the full report,
its appendices and the governor’s order, can be downloaded from
panel’s
webpage on the Washington Department of Ecology website.
Gregoire’s order is considered the first state-level action on
ocean acidification — and that has attracted attention from across
the country. For example, stories were written by environmental
reporter Juliet Eilperin of the
Washington Post and by Virginia Gewin of
Nature magazine.
Ocean acidification has been called the “evil twin” of global
warming, because the effects can be more swift and more severe than
gradual warming of the Earth. That’s not to discount other serious
effects of climate change, including increased frequency of severe
storms, sea level rise with increasing flooding, and heat waves
with crippling effects on agriculture. But acidification affects
organisms at the base of the entire food web.
The effects of ocean acidification will not be reversed for a
long, long time, even if greenhouse gas emissions are brought under
control. The upwelling of old water along the coast brings this
problem right to our doorstep now and for the foreseeable
future.
The shift from coal to natural gas, along with the downturn in
the economy, has significantly reduced emissions of carbon dioxide
in this country the past couple years, but the levels of
atmospheric greenhouse gases continue to go up.
“Climate change is taking place before our eyes and will
continue to do so as a result of the concentrations of greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere, which have risen constantly and again
reached new records,” said Michel Jarraud, secretary-general for
the World Meteorological Association, in a
press release issued yesterday.
The WMA reported that the years 2001–2011 were all among the
warmest on record, and it appears that 2012 will continue the
trend, despite a cooling influence from La Niña early this
year.
“Naturally occurring climate variability due to phenomena such
as El Niño and La Niña impact on temperatures and precipitation on
a seasonal to annual scale,” Jarraud said. “But they do not alter
the underlying long-term trend of rising temperatures due to
climate change as a result of human activities.
“The extent of Arctic sea ice reached a new record low. The
alarming rate of its melt this year highlighted the far-reaching
changes taking place on Earth’s oceans and biosphere,” he
added.
Environmental correspondent Alister Doyle reported today for
Reuters that the United Nations Panel on Climate Change now
believes that it is more certain than ever that humans are the
primary cause of global warming.
In its 2007 report, the panel pegged the certainty at more than
90 percent. Now, it appears likely that the scientists will
increase that certainty in the next report in 2013, said Rajendra
Pachauri, head of the panel who spoke with Doyle at a climate
conference in Qatar.
“We certainly have a substantial amount of information available
by which I hope we can narrow the gaps, increase the level of
certainty of our findings,” he said, adding that analyses also will
increase the predicted rate of sea-level rise.
Meanwhile, the “Draft National Ocean Policy and Implementation
Plan” is still undergoing review by the National Ocean Council. The
report contains a chapter called
“Resiliency and Adaptation to Climate Change and Ocean
Acidification” (PDF 732 kb). That chapter contains some of the
same recommendations offered by Washington state’s Blue Ribbon
Panel, but the state plan is more specific and comes with a
recommended $3.3 million budget to begin work on the problem.
U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings of Washington, chairman of the House
Natural Resources Committee, is attempting to derail the plan,
saying it creates an unnecessary bureaucracy and asserts federal
controls not approved by Congress. Read the
news release about House action against the plan.
I have not talked to anyone on the council lately, but it
appears that President Obama’s election campaign over the past year
effectively derailed any movement on this issue. In his first press
conference after the election, he pledged to jump-start the
climate-change effort, but no mention was made of the ocean policy.
Review the video below at 42:20.
I was caught off guard yesterday when scientists studying Hood
Canal and Puget Sound announced that ocean acidification could be
worse in inland waterways than in the ocean. I received a quick
chemistry lesson from Richard Feeley of NOAA’s Pacific Marine
Experimental Laboratory and rushed a story into
today’s Kitsap Sun.
I have written about ocean acidification in Water Ways in the
past. (See
June 2, 2009;
July 9, 2009;
Jan. 22, 2010;
March 18, 2010; and
April 19, 2010.) I’ve also written about the troubles in oyster
hatcheries with the bacteria Vibrio tubiashii (Kitsap
Sun, June 18, 2008). But now growing evidence is revealing a
close relation between these problems and a threat to some vital
critters at the base of the food web.
Jan Newton, an oceanographer who has studied Hood Canal for
years, along with her colleagues at the University of Washington
have patiently helped me understand the science behind the
low-oxygen problems in Hood Canal. I’ve passed much of that
information on to readers of the Kitsap Sun and Watching Our Water
Ways.
I asked Jan yesterday if she was ready to guide me through this
new science behind ocean acidification in Hood Canal and the
double-whammy effect connected to the dissolved oxygen problem.
Dick Feeley pointed out a basic problem facing aquatic animals,
almost all of which require oxygen to survive. As carbon dioxide
levels increase, the rate of respiration increases to obtain enough
oxygen for the animals to go about their lives. If oxygen levels
are low, the animals will expend more energy just to survive. Some
of them may become more sluggish and unable to increase their food
intake at the very time they need to replenish their energy
reserves.
These kinds of subtle — or not so subtle — effects need to be
examined to understand the risks to the entire food web of Hood
Canal and Puget Sound.
As for critters with shells, ocean acidification can inhibit
shell growth when the animals are tiny and in their free-swimming
larval stage — the most vulnerable time of their lives.
I have many questions to explore in the coming weeks and months,
as researchers examine new data they are gathering. I’m still
reviewing the research report published in the August issue of
“Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science.” which can be purchased
online for $19.95. Stay tuned for more.
For those of us concerned about sealife, the issue of ocean
acidification is beginning to be at least as worrisome as rising
ocean temperatures.
The first direct evidence of ocean acidification across a broad
expanse of ocean was revealed this week in a new report detailing
an ongoing study focused on waters between Hawaii and Alaska.
Ocean acidification, related to the buildup of carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere, is believed to be affecting the ocean’s food web,
beginning with creatures that form external shells of calcium and
carbonate.
A new report, based on direct measurements of acidity at the
ocean’s surface, as well as biological changes down to half a mile,
show an increase in acid concentrations. Principal investigator
Robert Byrne of the University of South Florida said there is no
longer any doubt that increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere
are affecting the world’s oceans.
“If this happens in a piece of ocean as big as a whole ocean
basin, then this is a global phenomenon,” Byrne said in a news
release.
Scientists from 11 academic institutions and two labs operated
by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are taking
part in a long-term study of ocean conditions in the Northeast
Pacific Ocean, where changes are happening rapidly.
Christopher Sabine, one of the leaders of the investigation,
commented in the news release:
“It is now established from models that there is a strong
possibility that dissolved carbon dioxide in the ocean surface will
double over its pre-industrial value by the middle of this century,
with accompanying surface ocean pH decreases that are greater than
those experienced during the transition from ice ages to warm ages.
The uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide by the ocean changes the
chemistry of the oceans and can potentially have significant
impacts on the biological systems in the upper oceans.”
We have talked before in Water Ways about ocean acidification,
but in a more speculative way. More information is coming out all
the time. An excellent synthesis of current knowledge can be found
in the latest issue of the journal “Oceanography.”
Although somewhat technical, the subject is broken down into
focused articles that are easy to get through. I recommend that
anyone who cares about the oceans spend a little time with this
online information.
Ocean acidification off the U.S. Pacific Coast is likely to get
increased attention and research dollars with Jane Lubchenco
heading the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Lubchenco, a marine ecologist from Oregon State University, has
served as president of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science and is well grounded in basic research.
While I was disappointed that the climate report did not include
more about the growing concerns related to chemical changes off the
coasts of Washington and Oregon, Lubchenco stated clearly in this
interview that she believes more research is needed regarding ocean
acidification:
“The oceans are indeed becoming more acidic, as a result of
absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and that acidity
represents a very real threat to much of the life in oceans,
ranging from the smallest microscopic plants, to coral reefs, to
things that form shells — mussels, oysters, clams — but even things
like lobsters and crabs.
“We’ve only begun to scratch the surface in terms of really
understanding the full range of the impacts of ocean acidification,
and it also affects physiology, not just the making of shells and
skeletons.”
Specifically about the Pacific Northwest:
“NOAA has been in the forefront in the research on ocean
acidification, and is working in close collaboration with the
leading academics on this issue. And we have identified the urgent
need to have more instruments in the water tracking and measuring
the changes that are underway, so we can better understand the
dynamics. And, as you point out, along the West Coast where there
is upwelling, there appears to be an area that is already
significantly affected, and we’re seeing much greater changes than
I think anyone anticipated.
“They’re seeing very low pH levels and the other chemistry that
goes along with that, it’s not simply a matter of pH. There are
other chemical changes in the ocean water that affect plants and
animals, and the rate at which they can make shells, or the rate at
which shells are dissolved.
“I just learned today of some very interesting work being done
by NOAA and some academic scientists looking at some deep-sea
volcanoes in the western Pacific where there is carbon dioxide that
is bubbling up from beneath the ocean, and likely causing lower pH
in the immediate vicinity of the areas where the bubbles are
emerging. And so there are places where it is possible to
investigate the consequences of lower pH on the immediate biota in
the area. But setting that aside, I think there is great urgency in
significantly ramping up research monitoring and research programs
on ocean acidification.”
I believe you may find the entire interview worth reading. As an
environmental reporter, I think it will be important to follow how
research dollars will be spent in the Northwest to investigate
these potential life-and-death changes.
I would like to confess something here: I am more afraid of the
oceans growing more acidic than any of the other consequences of
climate change — including drought, floods, reduced snow pack, sea
level rise, arctic ice disappearing…
I’m not sure why ocean acidification scares me, but it probably
has to do with the fact that I am not very grounded in the science.
I need to learn more about the chemistry of the oceans and what
concentrations of acidic compounds cause severe problems.
I remember learning, during my school days in chemistry lab, how
strong acids can dissolve almost anything but glass. I still can
hear the hissing sound and and see vapors rising during acid-base
reactions. On an emotional level, I don’t want to be swimming
around in acid, and I don’t want our friends, the sea creatures, to
be doing so, either.
If you want to produce a scary movie, forget about violent
encounters with giant squid and surprise attacks by a great white
shark. Here’s how I would write the movie trailer:
Scene: The dark surface of the wayward sea.
Cue the ominous music, then the announcer: “Sea life cannot survive
without water, yet something strange is lurking beneath the waves.
Do you dare touch the water, knowing that the water itself can
bring death? What can anyone do against this growing menace we call
ACID?”
Water should be neutral, a pH of 7.0. OK, I know this doesn’t
happen in real life, but I don’t want the oceans’ acid levels to
stray too far off that mark.
Seriously, notable scientists are telling us that ocean
acidification may be starting to affect the entire food web,
because of its effects on certain plankton and all sorts of shelled
critters. If what they say is true, ocean acidification really is
quite scary.
A couple of weeks ago, I reported that the Center for Biological
Diversity is suing the federal government to protect the oceans
under the Clean Water Act. (See
Water Ways, May 15.) Washington was chosen as the test case,
because upwelling of ocean water makes the West Coast especially
vulnerable to acidification. We’ll see how this lawsuit works out
in court, since the data remain a bit sketchy.
Yesterday, at least 70 “Academy of Sciences” groups from
throughout the world warned that ocean acidification is not getting
enough attention and should get more of a focus in international
discussions — including a December meeting in Copenhagen. (Check
out the InterAcademy Panel’s
announcement about ocean acidification.)
Chen Zhu, minister of health in the People’s Republic of China,
and Howard Alper, chairman and president of Science, Technology and
Innovation Council, Canada, are serving as co-chairs of the
InterAcademy Panel on International Issues. They said in a
statement:
“There has been much talk among the science community over the
past few years about ocean acidification and its potentially
catastrophic consequences, but it has failed to receive the
political attention it demands. Its absence from discussions
to-date is of immense concern, and we call for its immediate
inclusion as a vital part of the climate change agenda.”
At the same time, a new study by Sarah Cooley and Scott Doney of
the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution reported that ocean
acidification and its effects on marine organisms will have direct
and indirect effects on the U.S. economy and its $3.8 billion in
annual commercial harvests. The report was published in the journal
“Environmental Research Letters” (PDF 381 kb).
