Ocean Acidification: Global Issue, Local Effects:The Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network

J. Newton1,4 ; L. Jewett 2; P. Williamson3; Z. Willis4; T. Klinger1; R. Feely2; N. Bednarsek1

1: University of Washington; 2: NOAA; 3: University of East Anglia; 4: U.S. IOOS

Ocean acidification is a global problem already impacting our coasts and oceans at scales that span from individual species to ecosystems to indigenous communities to human industry such as aquaculture. OA is a global issue with local effects.

Efforts are underway to observe ocean acidification and its effects on biological organisms at several scales. Here we present the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON), as well as how national, regional and local observing efforts can integrate within GOA-ON, yielding an international global-scale network interoperable with and composed of smaller scale, local observations.

As an example, we present data from the Pacific Northwest United States and current impacts on shellfish growth and pteropods. Programs from the states of Washington and Oregon and from the United States are being synergized to afford better observing and communication of these data in near real-time through U.S. IOOS and its regional associations such as NANOOS. These efforts seek to optimize interoperability and sharing of data. Nesting within GOA-ON, these contributions help to define our global status based on the mosaic of local views.

The Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON) is a internationalpartnership to:

1. Document the status and progress of ocean acidification in open-ocean, coastal, estuarine, and coral reef environments,

2. Understand the impacts of ocean acidification on diverse marine ecosystems and societies, and

3. Support forecasts of ocean acidification conditions.

Two international workshops, with ~100 participants from ~30 countries, defined an approach to build a coordinated, integrated global observing network for ocean acidification:

RationaleGoalsDesignSuite of measurement parametersData quality and data distribution strategies International program integration

GOA-ON defined two data quality objectives

www.goa-on.org

• 'Climate data': of sufficient and defined quality to assess long term trends with defined level of confidence: Detection of changes in OA state over multi-decadal timescales

• 'Weather data': of sufficient and defined quality to identify relative spatial patterns and short-term changes: Mechanistic interpretation of the ecosystem response to local, immediate OA dynamics

Integration of local through global

Partnerships: GovernmentsAcademiaIndustryNGOsetc.

U.S. IOOS Pacific Region Ocean Acidification Data Portal

West Coast IOOS Regional Associations integrate data streams from:• NOAA OAP• Shellfish hatcheries• Academic, state, tribal, and local assets

GOA-ON Ocean Acidification Asset Map

La Push, coastal WA

Whidbey basin, Puget Sound

Hood Canal – July 2014 Whidbey Basin – July 2014

Pteropods are already showing shell dissolution in the natural environment. They respond to the small changes in carbonate chemistry quickly sensitive indicator.

The Washington OA Center is using the extent of dissolution, which depends on the intensity and duration of undersaturationconditions, to compare conditions across space and time.

NANOOS Washington & Oregon Data Portal

GLOBAL:

LOCAL:

REGIONAL/NATIONAL:

On using pteropods as an indicator of OA status…GOA-ON enables creation of inter-operable data systems that can integrate data on a local through global scale. At the local level, NANOOS is serving shellfish growers data from their growing sites and other local sources including NOAA; these same data streams are available through U.S. IOOS’ data portal for the Pacific basin. GOA-ON identifies all these data streams and ultimately could serve these data globally to scientists, user groups, and decision makers.