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Workshop Takes a Practical, Proactive Look at Ocean Acidification

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The Daily World, April 5th, 2014. By Brionna Friedrich

The frightening impacts of a changing climate are sometimes unavoidable, but an upcoming workshop takes a proactive look at how to cope with changing coastlines and ocean chemistry.

“If we can snatch opportunity out of the jaws of climate change, we’ll be doing a smart thing,” said Eric Swenson, communications and outreach director of Global Ocean Health. “That’s a real message I hope resonates and people can act on. Can we benefit from the coming circumstances?”

The non-profit initiative focuses on the impacts of ocean acidification, the absorption of carbon dioxide into ocean waters, which is already impacting local industries like shellfish growers.

It specifically works with seafood producers and coastal communities on options for adaptation.

The free workshop, set for Tuesday in the Rotary Log Pavilion in Aberdeen, will connect climate change and ocean acidification experts with local and regional policymakers and the general public.

The morning session, from 9 a.m. to noon, will feature speakers on changing aquaculture and how marine plants and grasses can help absorb CO2.

Stephen Crooks, climate change program director for Environmental Services Associates, has recently briefed the White House and the United Nations on the impacts of estuary restoration, Swenson said. “Now he’ll be doing a briefing for the Washington coast in Aberdeen,” he said. “We’ve got some actual world-class folks on the agenda.”

Marine and coastal vegetation provides opportunities, from contributions to overall estuary health to a possible commercial enterprise, harvesting food and biofuel.

“This isn’t pie-in-the-sky, people are doing this and making money at it in Asia,” Swenson said.

It could also provide a tool for shellfish farmers. Acidic ocean waters can decimate delicate oyster larvae.

“If you can just move the meter a point or two in some key areas, it’s the difference between life and death,” Swenson said.

“There’s a fair amount of research that shows that when shellfish and seagrasses co-exist — the right kind of seagrasses — it’s to the benefit of both,” he continued.

“We will be looking at how plants sequester the carbon. The salt marsh plants, for instance, do a job that’s about five times as effective as a tropical forest, so photosynthesis can really be made to work for us.”

A free lunch will be offered before the afternoon session, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., which will discuss local planning and policy processes that can help in preparation for a changing coastline.

“We’re bringing (ocean acidificaton) into a wider context of what the coast is going to look at in 20, 30 or 40 or more years, and it’s going to be very different than what it is now,” Swenson said. “By trying to consider what the coastline is going to look like with the higher sea, we may be able to shelter shellfish, we may be able to protect our estuaries, which are such nurseries for a variety of sea life.”

“If we learn to plan for it well, sea level rise might be more than just a problem — which it certainly will be — but an opportunity,” Global Ocean Health Director Brad Warren wrote in a press release. “Higher water will make more room for estuarine ecosystems that can sometimes chemically shelter vulnerable larvae from corrosive waters. It won’t be a smooth transition, but sea level rise may open up new areas for farming shellfish and marketable marine macroalgae. It will increase coastal habitats that support hunting and fishing and expand the nursery grounds that support most of the world’s seafood supply.”

Some basic understanding of ocean acidification will help for those who attend the workshop, Swenson said, but scientific expertise isn’t a requirement.

“I think people who have at least a fundamental grasp of what we’re talking about will be better served by the meeting, but it is designed to be open to the public, free of charge, with that free lunch included, in an attempt to draw in people who want to learn more about this,” Swenson said.

The Rotary Log Pavilion is located at 1401 Sargent Blvd. in Aberdeen. No registration is required for the workshop.

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One of the Smartest Investments We Can Make

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Ensia.com. By Jane Lubchenco and Mark Tercek, April 14th, 2014

For centuries, coastal wetlands were considered worthless. It’s time to acknowledge the environmental and economic value of restoring these ecosystems.

For the past 25 years, every U.S. president beginning with George H. W. Bush has upheld a straightforward, three-word policy for protecting the nation’s sensitive and valuable wetlands: No Net Loss. And for a quarter of a century, we have failed in this country to achieve even that simple goal along our coasts.

According to a recent report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States is losing coastal wetlands at the staggering rate of 80,000 acres per year. That means on average the equivalent of seven American football fields of these ecosystems disappear into the ocean every hour of every day. On top of that, we’re also losing vast expanses of sea-grass beds, oyster reefs and other coastal habitats that lie below the surface of coastal bays.

Rising sea levels make coastal wetlands increasingly important as a buffer from erosion. Under the right circumstances, wetlands are even capable of building up coastal lands.

This isn’t just an environmental tragedy; it’s also an economic one. Coastal wetlands and other coastal habitats provide buffers against storm surges, filter pollution, sequester carbon that would otherwise contribute to climate change, and serve as nurseries to help replenish depleted fish, crab and shrimp populations. The result is reduced flooding, healthier waterways, and increased fishing and recreational opportunities. To reap these benefits, we must reverse the trend of coastal habitat loss and degradation by protecting remaining habitats and aggressively investing in coastal restoration.

The good news is that such investments can pay off handsomely. To determine the extent of the economic contributions of these fragile and fading ecosystems, the Center for American Progress and Oxfam America analyzed three of the 50 coastal restoration projects NOAA carried out with funding from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The results were very positive. All three sites — in San Francisco Bay; Mobile Bay, Ala.; and the Seaside Bays of Virginia’s Atlantic coast — showed strong average returns on the dollars invested.

Only part of this benefit came from construction jobs. Real, long-term benefits also accrued to coastal residents and industries in the form of increased property values and recreational opportunities, healthier fisheries, and better protection against inundation. Rising sea levels make coastal wetlands increasingly important as a buffer from erosion. Under the right circumstances, wetlands are even capable of building up coastal lands because they trap sediment coming downstream from rivers, creating new land where additional marsh vegetation can grow.

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Lawmakers Pass East Coast’s First Ocean Acidification Bill

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Maine Insights, By Ramona Du Houx, April 18th, 2014

The Legislature on Thursday passed the East Coast’s first bill to address the threat of ocean acidification as the Senate gave the measure its final approval with a vote of 33-0. The bill, LD 1602, now goes to Gov. Paul LePage.

“Maine has the opportunity to lead on this issue,” said Rep. Mick Devin, the bill’s sponsor and a marine biologist. “The overwhelming support for my bill shows that Maine understands that ocean acidification is a real problem. It poses a threat to our coastal environment and the jobs that depend on it. We must address this threat head-on.”

The measure would establish a commission to study and address the negative effects of ocean acidification on the ecosystem and major inshore shellfisheries. The committee membership would be made up of stakeholders including fishermen, aquaculturists, scientists and legislators.

Rising levels of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel use are causing changes in ocean chemistry. As carbon dioxide and seawater combine, carbonic acid forms. Carbonic acid can dissolve the shells of shellfish, an important commercial marine resource. Over the past two centuries, ocean acidity levels have increased 30 percent.

If left unchecked, ocean acidification could cause major losses to shellfisheries like clams, oysters, lobsters, shrimp and sea urchins and put at risk thousands of jobs and billions of dollars to the state’s economy.

Shellfish hatcheries on the West Coast have failed in recent years due to 60 to 80 percent production losses caused by ocean chemistry changes, which can take place quickly. A 2007 study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration discovered changes in ocean chemistry not expected for another 50 to 100 years on the West Coast.

Devin’s bill is one of the key legislative issues of the Environmental Priorities Coalition this year. The coalition cited research that found the Gulf of Maine is more susceptible to the effects of ocean acidification than other parts of the East Coast.

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Well-managed Mangroves ‘Can Survive Rising Sea Levels’

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From SciDev.net. April 9th, 2013

The prevailing idea that sea-level rise will inevitably wipe out mangrove forests — fragile ecosystems that protect nearby communities from natural hazards such as floods and storms — is challenged by a recent report.

Mangroves in some areas will be able to survive climate change-induced sea-level rise as they can slowly increase the level of soil in which they thrive, but only if they are managed and protected, according to ‘The response of mangrove soil surface elevation to sea level rise’ report.mangrove pic

Activities such as building dams on rivers and converting mangrove areas into shrimp farms may have a stronger impact on the health of mangroves than sea-level rise, the report adds. Once weakened by such changes, mangroves will be less able to adapt to changes in sea level.

“A lot of the rivers [that feed mangrove areas] are being dammed, and by doing that we reduce the freshwater flow and sediment flow to mangroves. Both can be very deleterious for mangroves,” says Anna McIvor, lead author of the report and a researcher at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

“Once mangroves are degraded, they are much less likely to keep up with sea-level rise,” McIvor tells SciDev.Net.

The report surveyed key literature published from 2006 to 2011, and found that mangroves in some areas have adapted to rising sea levels and would continue to do so in the future.

But, it notes, longer-term data on the effects of sea-level rise on mangroves are missing.

“Most of the current measurements span [only] about ten years,” says McIvor. Yet, sea levels do not rise that quickly.

She says that evidence is currently also limited by the small number of locations in which mangrove studies have taken place, restricting researchers’ abilities to assess differences in local conditions and make global predictions on the future of mangroves.

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Scallops Die-off Shows Importance of Ocean Acidification Research

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March 25th, 2014  The Oregonian, Guest Columnists Burke Hales and George Waldbusser

georgia strait.JPG


A bank of fog looms over the Strait of Georgia as the sun sets in West Vancouver, B.C. A nearby scallops die-off has raised concerns about ocean acidification. (The Associated Press)

When $10 million worth of scallops suddenly died in late February at Island Scallops in Qualicum, BC, the company announced it would have to lay off one-third of the workforce–bad news for this job-poor rural community. The die-off also raises worrisome questions about the long-term health of the Georgia Strait waters and  Island Scallops farm.

The jury is still out on what killed these millions of scallops, but it is reminiscent of the huge losses suffered by the Northwest’s oyster hatcheries beginning several years ago due to ocean acidification.

Ocean acidification happens when oceans absorb carbon pollution from the atmosphere, exacerbating natural conditions and making the water more acidic. The larvae and juveniles of bivalves such as oysters, clams and mussels are notably susceptible to these conditions. There is no doubt that the oyster larvae die-offs were from ocean acidification. But the fact that we don’t know what’s killing the scallops points to a larger problem: not enough science, not enough data, and not enough information.

Luckily for those of us in Oregon, when it comes to improving our scientific understanding of ocean acidification, our state has led the way. Business-science partnerships are already bringing economic security to coastal communities.

Oregon State University researchers began working onsite at Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery years ago, creating an academic-industry partnership model for tackling ocean acidification by tracking the problem and giving hatchery managers the power of prediction and adaptation. Similar partnerships are now underway in California, Washington and Alaska with university scientists installing research-grade equipment at shellfish hatcheries, helping to identify immediate responses for adaptation allowing businesses to survive.

Ocean acidification is not just a Pacific Northwest problem, and it won’t just stop with oysters. It doesn’t just threaten the 3,200 people employed by the $272 million shellfish industry in Oregon and Washington. All the way across the country in Maine is a vibrant lobster industry valued at $466 million and employing 4,900 people. They, too, are begging for more science to help them understand, adapt and survive.

The recent release of President Obama’s 2015 budget brought with it the good news that the administration is seeking a sizable increase in federal funding for ocean acidification research and monitoring to $15 million (last year it was funded at $6 million). This gives us hope, but now Congress must act. We urge the Oregon congressional delegation to support us in our search for more federal funding for ocean acidification research, which has proven vital to understanding the problem and providing capacity for industry to adapt.

It’s time for our congressional representatives to follow Oregon’s lead so our coastal communities can have the information they need to survive and flourish.

Burke Hales and George Waldbusser are professors in the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (CEOAS) at Oregon State University.

Original column here

Ocean Acidification Impairs Vermetid Reef Recruitment

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Feb 28th, 2014, Nature.com

Vermetids form reefs in sub-tropical and warm-temperate waters that protect coasts from erosion, regulate sediment transport and accumulation, serve as carbon sinks and provide habitat for other species. The gastropods that form these reefs brood encapsulated larvae; they are threatened by rapid environmental changes since their ability to disperse is very limited. We used transplant experiments along a natural CO2 gradient to assess ocean acidification effects on the reef-building gastropod Dendropoma petraeum. We found that although D. petraeum were able to reproduce and brood at elevated levels of CO2, recruitment success was adversely affected. Long-term exposure to acidified conditions predicted for the year 2100 and beyond caused shell dissolution and a significant increase in shell Mg content. Unless CO2 emissions are reduced and conservation measures taken, our results suggest these reefs are in danger of extinction within this century, with significant ecological and socioeconomic ramifications for coastal systems.

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Mediterranean vermetid reefs.

(A) A pristine vermetid reef at low tide in NW Sicily, Italy. (B) Collection of a vermetid core in the outer rim of a vermetid reef; black spots are the shell openings of Dendropoma petraeum cemented by the coralline alga Neogoniolithon brassica-florida. (C) A vermetid core transplanted in the intertidal off Vulcano Island. (D) A recruit newly settled on the coralline alga (top left) and the shell opening with the operculum of a D. petraeum adult (below). Photo credits: R.C. (A); M.M. (B,C); M.M. and M.F. (D)

Acidic Water Blamed for West Coast Scallop Die-off

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Feb 25th, 2014 – By Randy Shore, The Vancouver Sun

Nanaimo-based Island Scallops has shut down its processing plant and laid off a third of its workforce

High Acidity is being blamed for a mass die-off of BC scallops

High Acidity is being blamed for a mass die-off of BC scallops

Ten million scallops that have died in the waters near Qualicum Beach due to rising ocean acidity are the latest victims in a series of marine die-offs that have plagued the West Coast for a decade. Human-caused carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere are being absorbed by the ocean and may have pushed local waters through a “tipping point” of acidity beyond which shellfish cannot survive, according to Chris Harley, a marine ecologist at the University of B.C. Rising ocean acidity is a global phenomenon, made worse by higher natural acidity in local waters, Harley said. “I’ve seen pH measured down to about 7.2, so this is very much within the realm of possibility, though unfortunate and extreme,” he said. “We are in a hot spot in the Pacific Northwest.” The lower the pH, the higher the acidity. Local waters are typically a much-less-acidic 8.2. High acidity interferes with the ability of baby scallops to form a protective shell, forcing them to expend more energy and making them more vulnerable to predators and infection. “When the pH goes down, it’s a lot harder to build that shell and we’ve seen that in a lot of other species in the lab,” said Harley. “It interferes with everything they do, their basic physiology is affected.” Nanaimo-based Island Scallops has shut down its processing plant and laid off 10 people, almost one third of its workforce. The company is a marine hatchery and scallop producer with more than 500 hectares in production. That’s about 16 per cent of B.C.’s total shellfish culture. Read more here

The Extinction We’ve Enabled

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Feb 14th, 2014

Brad Plumer interviews Elizabeth Kolbert about her new book on the coming mass extinction:

BP: One thing your book explores is that there’s no one factor causing modern-day extinctions. There’s hunting. There’s deforestation. There are changes in land use. There’s climate change and the acidification of the oceans. Which of these stands out as most significant?

EK: To me, what really stood out… And I always say, look, I’m not a scientist, I’m relying on what scientists tell me. And I think many scientists would say that what we’re doing to the chemistry of the oceans is the most significant. One-third of the carbon-dioxide that we pump into the air ends up in the oceans almost right away, and when CO2 dissolves in water, it forms an acid, that’s just an unfortunate fact.

The chemistry of the oceans tends to be very stable, and to overwhelm those forces is really hard. And we are managing to do it. When people try to reconstruct the history of the ocean, the best estimate is that what we’re doing to the oceans or have the potential to do is a magnitude of change that hasn’t been seen in 300 million years. And changes of ocean chemistry are associated with some of the worst crises in history.

Bill McKibben also has a fascinating conversation with Kolbert:

McKibben: The hallmark of evolutionary biology is adaptability. Is the main thing that’s different in this era the speed with which we are forcing things to adapt? Is that the single biggest new variable in this new system?

 

Kolbert: I once got this question from a person who said, “Well, if things start going extinct, won’t new things just evolve?” It was like extinction and evolution were a one-for-one trade. But the answer is that you can drive things extinct quickly, but it is very difficult to speed up evolution. If we were driving these changes at a pace that’s hundreds, even a million times slower, then yes, maybe most things would adapt to that, and we would get a very different world but not necessarily a humongous wave of extinctions. But otherwise you can do the math yourself.

Read more here