Gulf of Alaska | Climate and Oceanography
Analysis of marine CO2 system measurements in Alaska’s coastal communities Presenter: Jacqueline Ramsay , jacqueline@alutiiqprideak.org, Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute
Wiley Evans , wiley.evans@hakai.org, Hakai, Institute Carrie Weekes , carrie.weekes@hakai.org, Hakai, Institute Katie Pocock , katie.pocock@hakai.org, Hakai Institute Vanessa Verhey , v_verhey@hotmail.com Hanna Hellen , hannamhellen@gmail.com Jeff Hetrick , jjh@seward.net, Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute
During the shellfish larval mortality events that occurred in the Pacific Northwest in 2007, researchers found that a reduction in aragonite saturation (Ωarag), characterized by ocean acidification (OA), was a factor impairing oyster larvae survival. The need for monitoring in proximity to coastal communities to determine changing seawater trends became apparent as most data sets are open ocean observations, which differ greatly from coastal seawater chemistry. Alaskan waters are especially vulnerable to OA due to naturally high CO2 content, cold water and freshwater input. Through collaborations with the Hakai Institute, the College of Earth and Ocean Sciences at Oregon State University, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Chugach Regional Resources Commission’s Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute (APMI) has optimized a land-based monitoring platform and developed the Ocean Acidification Research Laboratory (OAR), located on Resurrection Bay in Seward, Alaska.
The OAR Laboratory is the first of its kind in Alaska, and is a part of a Burke-O-Lator (pCO2/TCO2 analyzer) network of laboratories that extends along the North American Pacific Coast.
With real time baseline monitoring established at APMI in 2013, the ability to add carbonate minerals to larval tanks at times of low aragonite periods was established. To further expand the capacity of the program the analyzer was upgraded to analyze discreet samples from across the region. This allowed APMI to begin to monitor the villages we serve, as well as other villages in Alaska that joined our program due to concerns about their natural resources. Here we present data obtained by analyzing the samples obtained by citizens in those communities, and the trends that have been observed with respect to that sites carbonate system. The goals for the use of these data will be to; identify which areas in Alaska may be sensitive to changes in sea water quality to determine if there are spatial and temporal patterns at specific locales. In addition, these data could shed light on the different drivers changing Ωarag at different locations, the importance of nearshore monitoring, and inform stakeholders and environmental managers to direct the choices made by them to sustainably manage our resources and subsistence lifestyle.
Alaska Marine Science Symposium 2023 106
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker