Ocean Acidification A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean (2010) / Chapter Skim
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Like climate change, ocean acidification is a growing global problem that will intensify with continued CO2 emissions and has the potential to change marine ecosystems and affect benefits to society. The average pH of ocean surface waters has decreased by about 0.1 unit -- from about 8.2 to 8.1 -- since the beginning of the industrial revo lution, with model projections showing an additional 0.20.3 drop by the end of the century, even under optimistic scenarios (Caldeira and Wickett, 2005)
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Act of 2009 -- which calls for, among other things, the establishment of a federal ocean acidification program; this report is directed to the ongoing strategic planning process for such a program. Although ocean acidification research is in its infancy, there is already growing evidence of changes in ocean chemistry and ensuing biologi cal impacts.
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B To what degree are federal agency programs and plans responsive to the nation's needs for ocean acidification research, monitoring and assessments?
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These changes in the inorganic carbon and acidbase chemistry of seawater can affect physiological processes in marine organisms such as carbon fixation in photosynthesis, maintenance of physiological pH in internal fluids and tissues, or precipitation of carbonate minerals. Some of the strongest evi dence of the potential impacts of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems comes from experiments on calcifying organisms; acidifying seawater to various extents has been shown to affect the formation and dissolution of calcium carbonate shells and skeletons in a range of marine organisms including reefbuilding corals, commercially important mollusks such as oysters and mussels, and many phytoplankton and zooplankton species that form the base of marine food webs.
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While the ultimate consequences are still unknown, there is a risk of ecosystem changes that threaten coral reefs, fisheries, protected species, and other natural resources of value to society. CONCLUSION: given that ocean acidification is an emerging field of research, the committee finds that the federal government has taken initial steps to respond to the nation's long-term needs and that the national ocean acidification program currently in development is a positive move toward coordinating these efforts.
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The development of new tools and techniques, includ ing novel autonomous sensors, would greatly improve the ability to make relevant chemical and biological measurements over space and time and will be necessary to identify and characterize essential biological indica tors concerning the ecosystem consequences of ocean acidification. As critical biological indicators and metrics are identified, the Program will need to incorporate those measurements into the research plan, and thus, adaptability in response to developments in the field is a critical element of the monitoring program.
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identify vulnerable ecosystems, measurement requirements, and other details for developing an ocean acidification observational network. Another important consideration is the sustainability of longterm observations, which remains a perpetual challenge but is critical given the gradual, cumulative, and longlasting pressure of ocean acidification.
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However, these networks can be used as the backbone of a broader monitoring network. RECOMMENDATION: The National Ocean Acidification Program should review existing and emergent observing networks to identify existing measurements, chemical and biological, that could become part of a comprehensive ocean acidification observing network and to identify any critical spatial or temporal gaps in the current capacity to monitor ocean acidification.
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There is also a need to understand these effects in light of multiple and potentially compounding environmental stressors, such as increasing temperature, pollution, and overfishing. The committee identifies eight broad research areas that address these critical information gaps; detailed research recommendations on specific regions and topics are contained in other communitybased reports (i.e., Raven et al., 2005; Kleypas et al., 2006; Fabry et al., 2008a; Orr et al., 2009; Joint et al., 2009)
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The National Ocean Acidification Program could leverage the expertise of these existing and future programs. RECOMMENDATION: The National Ocean Acidification Program should focus on identifying, engaging, and responding to stakeholders in its assessment and decision support process and work with existing climate service and marine ecosystem management programs to develop a broad strategy for decision support.
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RECOMMENDATION: The National Ocean Acidification Program should create a data management office and provide it with adequate resources. guided by experiences from previous and current largescale research programs and the research community, the office should develop policies to ensure data and metadata quality, access, and archiving.
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The FOARAM Act calls for the development of a detailed, 10year strategic plan for the National Ocean Acidification Program; while the ultimate details of such a plan are outside the scope of this report, the Program will need to lay out a clear strategic plan to identify key goals and set priorities, as well as a detailed implementation plan. Community input into plan development will promote transparency and community acceptance of the plans and Program.
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community input and external review. RECOMMENDATION: The National Ocean Acidification Program should create a program office with the resources to ensure successful coordination and integration of all of the elements outlined in the FOARAM Act and this report.
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