Ocean Acidification

Coral reef and fish

Atmospheric CO2 concentrations are increasing due to human activities and about 1/3 of this CO2 has been absorbed by the oceans. As a result the oceans pH and carbonate chemistry are changing as the ocean becomes more acidic. We propose to conduct a targeted workshop on Ocean Acidification in August 2011 at the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laboratories (FHL). The purpose of this workshop will be to bring together students and researchers (including early career researchers and postgraduate students) from within the WUN to present their latest results and to develop a plan for future international research and educational collaboration. Ocean Acidification is a global problem and requires global collaboration to integrate different approaches and data. The research is cross scale from atomic to ecosystem scales and crosses taxonomic and functional groups from plankton to reef-building corals and temporal scales from the present to the ancient past. Learning to work effectively in such an international scientific arena is essential to long-term professional success in the field of ocean change. The strengths of addressing this problem through WUN include 1) participating institutions are embedded within
different societies located on different oceans and 2) comparative studies across ocean areas will optimize outcomes.

The Friday Harbor Laboratory is an ideal site for this first meeting as UW is in the process of constructing of an ocean acidification experimental facility with shore-based and inwater mesocosm capabilities. This facility will provide unique research and education opportunities for U.S. and International scientists. The expertise and facilities that exist among the WUN Universities offer an unparalleled opportunity to initiate a new program for international exchange and generation of new knowledge. A consequence of this seed grant will be opportunities for collaborative research not otherwise available and an opportunity to compare experimental approaches and results from different regions.