Tag Archives: acidification

U.S. action needed on ocean acidification

General, , , ,

Harbour crab, Lofoten, Norway. © Wild Wonders of Europe /Magnus Lundgren / WWF

Harbour crab, Lofoten, Norway. © Wild Wonders of Europe /Magnus Lundgren / WWF


Dr. Thomas Armstrong is the Deputy Secretary of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme and leads the Adaptation Actions for a Changing Arctic. He previously served in the Obama Whitehouse as the Executive Director of the U.S.Global Change Reaserch Program. This article originally appeared in The Circle 01.15.
The ocean regulates our climate and our weather and plays a fundamental role in maintaining Earth’s water, carbon and nutrient cycles. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, human activities have upset the natural balance of nutrients in the ocean. Tom Armstrong warns changes in the oceanic carbon cycle are causing dramatic changes in the Arctic Ocean and need a strong response from the incoming chair of the Arctic Council.
The ocean has absorbed nearly one-third of the carbon dioxide (CO2) added to the atmosphere by humans from deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. Because the ocean has absorbed so much CO2, greenhouse warming of the atmosphere is less severe. But, there is a critical downside: the dissolved CO2 increases the acidity of ocean water, threatening aquatic life and the livelihoods that depend on it. Without global action to limit CO2 emissions, this trend will continue.
Ocean acidification is a big issue for the Arctic, where relatively shallow water depths and significantly large CO2 influx from both human and natural sources can result in acidic waters, leading to substantial impacts on a very vulnerable food web. Exacerbating the problem is the fact that the relatively cold waters of the Arctic allow CO2 to be absorbed more easily than in warmer tropical waters, amplifying the acidifying effect of atmospheric CO2 at polar latitudes. In addition, as ice melts in the Arctic, the seawater becomes less salty, and less salty water absorbs CO2 more efficiently. Yet with all of these potentially significant impacts and related consequences, acidification of the Arctic Ocean is poorly understood, under-observed and under-researched. Continued anthropogenic climate change and increasing amounts of carbon uptake by the Arctic Ocean are likely to have significant detrimental impacts on the physical, biological, social and economic state of today’s, and especially tomorrow’s, Arctic communities.

Acidification of the Arctic Ocean is poorly understood, under-observed and under-researched.

What we Already Know
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th Assessment Report included several important findings with relevance to both global ocean health and acidification of the Arctic Ocean, including:

  • Ocean warming dominates the increase in energy stored in the climate system, accounting for more than 90% of the energy accumulated between 1971 and 2010 (60% above 700m, 30% below 700m)
  • Ocean acidity has increased approximately 30 percent since the Industrial Revolution
  • More acidic oceans will have broad and significant impacts on marine ecosystems, the services they provide, and the coastal economies, which depend on them
  • Oceanic uptake of anthropogenic CO2 will continue under all future emission scenarios, however, uptake is greater for higher concentration pathways – causing even more acidification, with carbon cycle feedbacks that will exacerbate climate change

The U.S. Perspective
U.S. federal agencies are currently conducting research, implementing policies and developing measures to better understand and address the effects of ocean acidification. But more is needed. We believe the U.S. must continue to lead the charge for the international community to increase international collaboration on ocean acidification research in the Arctic, particularly with regard to the effects of acidification on shell-forming organisms, marine biodiversity and food security.
Ocean acidification was one of the three topics that Secretary John Kerry chose to highlight in the Our Ocean conference. The Our Ocean Action Plan, released by Secretary Kerry during the conference, identified the importance of reducing CO2 emissions to stem the increase in ocean acidification and the need to create worldwide capability to monitor ocean acidification.
The U.S. continues to promote the development and establishment of the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON), which will measure ocean acidification through the deployment of instruments in key ocean areas. This is a new network with broad international cooperation and a commitment to build capacity in developing countries. Since 2012, the United States hasprovided financial support, totaling approximately $1 million, and related in-kind support for the establishment of a new Ocean Acidification International Coordination Center (OAICC) based in Monaco, which will help facilitate global cooperation to advance our understanding of ocean acidification.

Recommendations for Action by the Arctic Council
During its 2015 to 2017 Chairmanship of the Arctic Council, the U.S. should take a leadership role in:

  • Promoting the development of a full-scale, rigorous assessment of Arctic Ocean acidification by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme’s (AMAP) Arctic Ocean Acidification Expert Group.
  • Continuing to support efforts like Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network through monetary and expertise contributions.
  • Developing a communications and outreach strategy aimed at raising awareness of Arctic Ocean acidification (OA) as an issue that impacts the globe- not just the Arctic
  • Developing a focused mechanism for directly connecting the U.S. OA Interagency Working Group (IWG) with states, NGOs, foundations, academia, local communities and private industry – within the U.S. and across the Arctic Council countries to share best practices and lessons learned in addressing the causes of and impacts from OA.
  • Developing strategies for raising the profile of OA—and Arctic Council-led solutions—in upcoming UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COPs
  • Developing strategies/efforts for raising the profile and scientific expertise capacity of OA within the more mainstream Arctic Council climate change efforts, such as AMAP’s assessments and monitoring activities.
  • Utilizing the circum-Arctic countries’ leadership elements within AMAP and Sustaining Arctic Ocean Observing Networks (SAON) to find creative ways to help fund standardized OA monitoring instruments across international borders and leverage existing and planned activities across borders
  • Organizing a roundtable discussion with leading industry players, NGO and/or philanthropic leaders with a focus on determining the requisite science and monitoring assets needed to better understand past, present and future trends of OA as well as the resultant impacts and effects
  • Proposing oil and gas companies with offshore oil platforms in the Arctic add monitoring devices to their installations

Opportunities, Challenges, Responsibilities

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Sawyer Glacier. Alaska, Tracy Arm. © Dr. Terry McTigue, NOAA, NOS, NCCOS, CCMA.

Sawyer Glacier. Alaska, Tracy Arm.
© Dr. Terry McTigue, NOAA, NOS, NCCOS, CCMA.


Larry Hinzman is the Director of the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.  He is also chief scientist for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Next Generation Ecosystem Experiments (NGEE-Arctic). Dr. John Walsh is the Chief Scientist of the International Research Center at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. His research has addressed Arctic climate weather variability, with an emphasis on sea ice variability and the role of sea ice and snow cover in weather and climate. This article originally appeared in The Circle 01.15.
The U.S. State Department, which represents the United States on the Arctic Council, has established priorities for the U.S. Chair including climate change impacts in the Arctic, stewardship of the Arctic Ocean, and improving Arctic economic and living conditions. Here, John Walsh and Larry Hinzman highlight several topics under these themes that can galvanize research communities within the United States and other nations during the coming U.S. Chair period.

Adaptation and resilience to Arctic climate change

Mitigation activities such as reduced emissions have the potential to alter the trajectory of Arctic climate change in the latter decades of the present century. However, some changes are already “locked” in the evolving climate system, making adaptation a crucial element for dealing with climate change over the next few decades. And despite increasing awareness of their importance, climate change adaptations, in the U.S. Arctic (Alaska) and other Arctic regions have to date been dominated by planning and monitoring, rather than implementation. The identification of adaptation options for northern regions is the objective of an existing, ongoing Arctic Council assessment (“Adaptation Actions for a Changing Arctic”). With this report scheduled for release in 2017, the facilitation of adaptation actions and resilience can be one of the signature activities of the U.S. Chair of the Arctic Council.

Climate change adaptations, in the U.S. Arctic (Alaska) and other Arctic regions have to date been dominated by planning and monitoring, rather than implementation.

High-latitude ocean acidification

The global ocean is 25 % more acidic today than it was 300 years ago, a change traceable to increasing levels of atmospheric CO2. The Arctic Ocean and Subarctic seas are especially vulnerable to increasing ocean acidity because of their large shallow shelf seas, cold water, and high rates of productivity. Acidification is a threat to Subarctic fisheries, including the Bering Sea, with major socioeconomic consequences. However, large uncertainties pervade our understanding and prediction of the rate of high-latitude ocean acidification, as well as its geographical distribution. Monitoring of ocean acidity in the Arctic has largely been done through occasional cruises (mostly during the warm season) and just a few buoys, while the modeling of variations in ocean acidification remains in its infancy. With a heightened global awareness of the threats posed by ocean acidification, the next few years present an opportunity for significant progress in understanding and predicting ocean acidification in the Arctic. Chairing the Arctic Council can serve as a catalyst for coordinated and systematic monitoring (by cruises, buoys, sub-ice sampling, and emerging technologies, such as underwater autonomous vehicles) of high-latitude water acidification. Analysis of the collected data can improve understanding of Arctic water sensitivity to CO2 uptake and acidification, and in turn inform the development of predictive models, enabling planning and adaptation by industry and coastal communities. The Arctic Council’s Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme can also play an important role in the assessment of high-latitude ocean acidification.

Arctic Indicators Network and Early Indicators Warning System for the Arctic

It is well known that recent global changes have been amplified in the Arctic. However, the Arctic is a complex system, and change will not manifest at similar rates within all components. Present monitoring of the Arctic is characterized by a reliance on remote sensing and sparse networks of in situ measurements, unevenly distributed among system components. A holistic picture of Arctic change requires that we define, implement, and maintain a more comprehensive and robust set of Arctic indicators. These indicators, highlighting the most imminent risks and thereby informing priorities for planning and adaptation activities, must span the physical, social, and economic components of the Arctic system. Physical indicators for the Arctic can build upon the monitoring activities of NOAA and NASA, and can augment the set of essential climate variables already identified to guide the Global Climate Observing System. Socioeconomic indicators, including land use, infrastructure, and measures of human well-being, have heretofore been generally uncoordinated internationally, inconsistently structured, and poorly (or not at all) integrated with physical indicators. Such integration represents an interdisciplinary challenge but also an outstanding opportunity for the period of the U.S. Chair.

Freshwater Security

Though the Arctic may appear a very wet area with ample water resources, the availability of freshwater is quite limited. Annual precipitation over the entire U.S. Arctic is less than that of any western U.S. state, including Wyoming and Arizona. Limited water availability is further constrained by the Arctic’s long winters, when surface water is bound up as ice or snow, and access to groundwater is limited by permafrost. Such restrictions place severe constraints on communities and industry. Villages in northern Alaska typically harvest water from small streams or lakes during the summer months and attempt to store adequate volumes to sustain the community for the nine or more winter months. Further, the extremely harsh climate greatly complicates the handling and processing of waste water, requiring large investments of capital, energy, and time. The strict limits and great costs associated with both obtaining clean water and eliminating waste water present serious challenges to family health and sanitation.

Public Outreach

The U. S. Chair of the Arctic Council comes at a unique time in the evolution of public awareness of Arctic change. The rapidity of recent changes at high latitudes creates an urgent need for greater public understanding of the Arctic, especially as the Arctic acts as a sentinel for broader global change. The potential change in global sea level as a result of a warming Arctic is an obvious example. The recent emergence of potential links between Arctic warming and extremes in mid-latitude weather and climate has also received recent media attention—often with conflicting interpretations about the Arctic’s role. Accurately conveying the evolving state of scientific knowledge about Arctic mid-latitude weather connections represents a challenge for the scientific community, as well as a tremendous opportunity to stimulate the broader public’s interest in the Arctic.

Closing Perspective

Policy leadership is essential. The Arctic is changing rapidly with regard to global access, resources, and exploitation. Improved scientific understanding of the Arctic environment will enable the international community to develop sound policies for the region’s use and sustainability, including the protection of its pristine environment, small populations of wildlife, fragile ecosystems, and sensitive communities of Indigenous peoples. This U.S. chair brings prestige and opportunities for U.S. interests, while also carrying a responsibility to balance development and environmental protection.

United States leadership in the Arctic

General, , , ,

The Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent ties up to the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy in the Arctic Ocean Sept. 5, 2009. The two ships are taking part in a multi-year, multi-agency Arctic survey that will help define the Arctic continental shelf. Photo: Patrick Kelley, U.S. Coast Guard

The Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent ties up to the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy in the Arctic Ocean Sept. 5,
2009. The two ships are taking part in a multi-year, multi-agency Arctic survey that will help define the Arctic continental shelf. Photo: Patrick Kelley, U.S. Coast Guard


Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr., USCG (Ret.) is the US State Department’s Special Representative for the Arctic. This article originally appeared in The Circle 01.15.
When I became the first United States Special Representative for the Arctic in July 2014, I had just retired from nearly 40 years in the United States Coast Guard, finishing my career as the 24th Commandant.  Ironically, I both started and ended my Coast Guard service focusing on the U.S. portion of the Arctic. My first assignment was aboard a Coast Guard cutter homeported in Adak, Alaska, in the Aleutian Island chain.  During this assignment, I saw first-hand what the Arctic was all about. At the end of my career, I oversaw the completion of the first-ever Coast Guard Arctic Strategy, an achievement I’m very proud of and that has served our country well.
Now I have the great fortune to lead U.S. Arctic diplomacy and prepare for the United States’ chairmanship of the Arctic Council.  I feel very privileged to do so at such an important time in the history of the Arctic region. Not since the Cold War has there been such a focus on the Arctic and the critical role it plays in the world.  The Arctic Council – the only forum focused solely on the circumpolar Arctic – has evolved in encouraging ways to help Arctic governments and residents meet new challenges.
As chair, Canada has done a fantastic job of raising public awareness about Arctic indigenous peoples and their economic needs. We will follow Canada’s leadership and many of its priorities as we take the chair on April 24, 2015. Our chairmanship theme, “One Arctic:  Shared Opportunities, Challenges, and Responsibilities,” reflects the fact that although there are many dimensions to the Arctic, in the end it is one region of peace, stability and cooperation.
We see three general sub-themes logically flowing from the overarching theme under which we will organize a number of new initiatives:  Arctic Ocean safety, security and stewardship; improving economic and living conditions; and addressing the impacts of climate change.
The Arctic Ocean is still relatively unstudied as compared to the other oceans. We want the Council to support scientific research cooperation through a binding agreement that would reduce barriers to access for ships, equipment, research teams, samples and other logistical issues, and at the same time explore whether a Regional Seas Program for the Arctic Ocean might further cooperation on research priorities and joint efforts. We want to shine a light on the emerging problem of ocean acidification – a direct consequence of climate change that is happening more intensively in the Arctic Ocean than anywhere else owing to its cold temperatures. With the ever-increasing human presence in the Arctic Ocean, we plan to hold tabletop and live exercises among the Coast Guards and rescue services to ensure we are all prepared for the natural and/or man-made disasters that are all but inevitable.
Improving economic and living conditions is a high priority for the United States because all of the Arctic States have citizens living there, albeit in different circumstances.  Much of the Nordic Arctic is well-developed; generally speaking, the Saami indigenous peoples enjoy better economic and living conditions than indigenous peoples in the United States, Canada, Denmark/Greenland and Russia. Our communities are largely remote, often poverty-stricken, and lacking in some of the most basic human needs such as access to clean water, indoor plumbing and sewage services, reliable, affordable electricity and fuel, and good jobs.  These conditions contribute to physical and mental health problems, and eventually to high suicide rates, especially in men and boys. We hope that all eight Arctic States will join us in exploring solutions to these problems, including testing and deploying new technologies through public/private partnerships, encouraging foreign direct investment to stimulate job growth, and sharing expertise and best practices across our borders.
We all know that climate change is happening faster in the Arctic than in other regions of the world; in fact, the impacts of climate change underlie nearly all human activity in the region.  We hope to focus on climate change in our chairmanship in several ways, but most importantly by pressing the Arctic States and the Observer States to reduce their black carbon and methane emissions.
Our country does not contain the largest piece of the Arctic, but we do take the Arctic region very seriously and we look forward to our coming two years in the chair of the Arctic Council.

Arctic ocean acidification: winners and losers

General, ,

Today at the international conference on Arctic Ocean Acidification, we’re talking about socioeconomic issues. The increasing acidity of Arctic waters is a complex story where  some marine species will be winners (adapting and thriving) and others losers (to the point of extinction). As for humans, we stand to lose big –ocean acidification is likely to impact the abundance, productivity and distribution of Arctic fisheries.
More acidic Arctic waters will affect everything from the price of fish, to the cost of fishing, to the benefits of fisheries to the indigenous populations of the Arctic. With a multi-billion dollar fishing industry and a large subsistence population that relies heavily on ocean resources for the majority of their dietary protein, Alaska is particularly vulnerable. If ocean acidification takes the fisheries out of western Alaska where communities live on what the land and the sea provide, food security will become a serious challenge.
To buy some time and adapt to the changing chemistry of Arctic waters, it’s important to manage the other stressors impacting Arctic ecosystems. That means policies to counteract the effects of ocean acidification must consider other human impacts, like increased shipping in the Arctic.

 “A key solution is to help the Arctic ecosystems to help themselves by decreasing all the other pressures. We need to collaborate with the ecosystems”

– Sam Dupont, lead author of the biological chapter of the Arctic Ocean Acidification assessment of the Arctic Council
The services provided by ecosystems have real economic value.  Acidification means that the very chemistry of these ecosystems are changing rapidly. But by planning for marine ecosystems that can remain resilient in the face of rapid change, we can ensure that species adapt, and the people of the Arctic don’t lose out.

Arctic ocean acidification, the other CO2 problem

General,

© Erling Svensen / WWF-Canon

© Erling Svensen / WWF-Canon


During the opening day of the conference on Arctic Ocean Acidification, I was bombarded by technical vocabulary like omega aragonites*, fracturation in alkalinity and biogeochemical cycling. The whole day was dedicated to explaining the changing chemistry of the Arctic Ocean. By changing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, we are actually increasing the acidity of the ocean without fully understanding the future impacts on Arctic marine ecosystems.
Many international bodies are enhancing their efforts to understand ocean acidification and there is a growing interest amongst decision-makers.
Political cycles and the 2008 financial crisis have hindered global climate agreement negotiations in the past few years. For the US and China, ocean acidification is an opportunity to rekindle the discussion on carbon from a new angle.
The chemistry of ocean acidification science is straightforward and certain– we know it is happening now and rapidly – faster than in the last 56 milion years and it will continue as we emit more CO2 to the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels.
However, we must still bridge a large gap between science and policy on acidification.The potential costs of inaction are high. Healthy oceans provide vital services to people, for example by buffering some of the atmospheric CO2 emitted by human processes. Acidification may also put fisheries, and therefore food security, at risk.
Carol Turley of Plymouth Marine Laboratory, a pioneer in this field of research, emphasized that even if we cannot predict the exact costs, casualties and damages related to acidification, scientific uncertainties are no excuse to not act. “If you mitigate (that is, reduce emissions of CO2 to the atmosphere) for ocean acidification, you also mitigate for climate change – so double gain and double the reason to act now.”

10 strong key findings flowing from this three year assessment were released today:

Acidification in the Arctic Ocean:

  • Arctic marine waters are experiencing widespread and rapid ocean acidification.
  • The primary driver of ocean acidification is uptake of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere by human activities.
  • The Arctic Ocean is especially vulnerable to ocean acidification.
  • Acidification is not uniform across the Arctic Ocean.

Biological responses to ocean acidification

  • Arctic marine ecosystems are highly likely to undergo significant change due to ocean acidification.
  • Ocean acidification will have direct and indirect effects on Arctic marine life. It is likely that some marine organisms will respond positively to new conditions associated with ocean acidification, while others will be disadvantage, possibly to the point of local extinction.
  • Ocean acidification impacts must be assessed in the context of other changes happening in Arctic waters.

Potential economic and social impacts of ocean acidification on Arctic fisheries

  • Ocean acidification is one of several factors that may contribute to alteration of fish species composition in the Arctic Ocean.
  • Ocean acidification may affect Arctic fisheries.
  • Ecosystem changes associated with ocean acidification may affect the livelihoods of Arctic peoples.

* Aragonite is a material used by some sorts of sea creatures to build their shells. As ocean acidity increases, the ability of the sea creatures to build their shells from aragonite decreases, and so removes a valuable resource from food webs.

Arctic Ocean Acidification, from pteropods to walrus

General,
© WWF-Canon / Kevin Schafer

I have always been fascinated by the effects of climate change on our planet. What is so interesting with the Arctic is that climate change occurs twice as fast in high latitudes in comparison with the rest of the world. This week I am in Bergen in Norway where I’ll find out  more about another effect of the excess of carbon dioxide in the air, ocean acidification. The Arctic Council is sponsoring a conference here on this threat to the Arctic Ocean.
Arctic Ocean acidification will lead to significant effects on sea life. Acidification impacts on Arctic marine life are affecting the abundance of organisms such as pteropods (small sea snails) which serve as a foundation for the Arctic food web. The increasing acidity of the water makes it harder for them to build shells. If we lose great numbers of these key species at the heart of Arctic Ocean food webs, then other animals such as walruses will also be threatened, with impacts on Arctic communities. These changes also threaten multi-million dollar Arctic fisheries.
It is increasingly clear from the scientific findings that immediate cuts in CO2 emissions are essential to slow the acidification of the Arctic Ocean. Knowledge about this environmental problem has expanded rapidly in recent years. WWF believes the research being discussed here this week should pressure the Arctic Council and its members to create a coordinated voice by Arctic states and observer states in global negotiations on climate change. As producers of much of the global supply of carbon dioxide pollution, the Arctic states and Arctic Council observers have an obligation to lead in these negotiations.