Bering Sea | Climate and Oceanography
Ocean Acidification Research Center: Monitoring for Alaska Presenter: Natalie Monacci , nmonacci@alaska.edu, University of Alaska Fairbanks Jessica Cross , jessica.cross@noaa.gov, NOAA PMEL Darren Pilcher , darren.pilcher@noaa.gov, CICOES, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory Grace Saba , saba@marine.rutgers.edu, Rutgers University
Coastal regions around Alaska are experiencing some of the most rapid and extensive onset of ocean acidification (OA) events in the global oceans. Ecosystem monitoring, including chemistry, is essential to address vulnerabilities to marine resources including subsistence, mariculture, and commercial fisheries. The Ocean Acidification Research Center monitors the marine carbonate system around Alaska to determine the intensity, duration, and extent of ocean acidification events. Our observations are collected from large oceanographic vessels, small boats, shoreside stations, autonomous platforms, and uncrewed vehicles. Here we present an update on long-term monitoring in Alaska’s coastal water and preliminary results from new projects in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea. In August 2022, we conducted a research cruise in the southeast Gulf of Alaska aboard the R/V Rachel Carson. We employed various data collecting methods during the cruise including a subsurface glider, profiling sensors, and discrete sampling. Our results will quantify ocean acidification events brought on by coastal upwelling, biological processes, and freshwater input from the region’s extensive glaciers and rivers. In September 2022, we joined the Bering Arctic and Subarctic Integrated Survey (BASIS) cruise in the Bering Sea to co-collect data on the marine carbonate system alongside the fishery population assessment. During the cruise aboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson, we collected discrete samples to validate the carbonate chemistry package for the Bering 10K regional ocean model. These observations benefit fishery biologists through the addition of an ocean acidification index in NOAA’s Ecosystem Status Report. Our observations and services provide the ability to track ocean acidification conditions through maintaining regional time series, updating regional biogeochemical algorithms, validating ocean biogeochemical models, and developing ocean acidification indicators.
Alaska Marine Science Symposium 2023 111
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