**WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF**

**RICHARD A. FEELY, Ph.D.**

> **OFFICE OF OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH**

**NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION**

**U.S DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE**

**HEARING ON**

**OCEAN ACIDIFICATION**

**BEFORE THE**

**COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY**

**SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT**

**U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES**

**June 5, 2008**

**Introduction**

Chairman Lampson and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for giving
me the opportunity to speak with you today on ocean acidification and
the Administration's views on H.R. 4174, the *Federal Ocean
Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2007*. My name is Richard
Feely. I am a Supervisory Chemical Oceanographer at the Pacific Marine
Environmental Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) in Seattle, WA. My personal area of research is
the study of the oceanic carbon cycle and ocean acidification processes.
I have worked for NOAA for 34 years and have published more than 165
peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, book chapters and technical
reports. I serve on the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program Scientific
Steering Group and I am the co-chair of the U.S. Repeat Hydrography
Program Scientific Oversight Committee. I am also on the International
Scientific Advisory Panel for the European Program on Ocean
Acidification.

**What is Ocean Acidification?**

As the Committee is aware, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) has documented, global carbon dioxide (CO~2~) emissions to
the atmosphere have increased since the start of the industrial age.
What happens to all that CO~2~ that is put into the atmosphere? Over the
past two centuries, the oceans have absorbed approximately 525 billion
tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or about one third of the
anthropogenic carbon emissions released during this period (Sabine and
Feely, 2007). This natural process of absorption has benefited humankind
by significantly reducing the greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere
and mitigating some of the impacts of global warming. However, the
ocean's current daily uptake of 22 million tons of carbon dioxide is
starting to have a significant impact on the chemistry and biology of
the oceans.

Over the last three decades, NOAA, the National Science Foundation and
the Department of Energy have co-sponsored repeat hydrographic and
chemical surveys of the world oceans, documenting the ocean's response
to increasing amounts of carbon dioxide being emitted to the atmosphere
by human activities. These surveys have confirmed the oceans are
absorbing increasing amounts of carbon dioxide. Both the hydrographic
surveys and modeling studies reveal that chemical changes in seawater
resulting from absorption of carbon dioxide are increasing the acidity
of seawater (or, lowering its pH, the scale used to measure acidity).
Scientists have estimated that the pH of our ocean surface waters has
already fallen by about 0.11 units from an average of about 8.21 to 8.10
since the beginning of the industrial revolution (a drop in pH indicates
an increase in acidity, as on the logarithmic pH scale 7.0 is neutral,
with points lower on the scale being "acidic" and points higher on the
scale being "basic"; Raven et al, 2005). Further, future predictions
indicate that the oceans will continue to absorb CO~2~ and become more
acidic. Estimates of future atmospheric and oceanic carbon dioxide
concentrations, based on the IPCC emission scenarios and numerical
circulation models, indicate that by the middle of this century
atmospheric carbon dioxide levels could reach more than 500 parts per
million (ppm), and near the end of the century they could be over 800
ppm (Orr et al., 2005). This would result in a surface water pH decrease
of approximately 0.4 pH units as the ocean becomes more acidic. To put
this in historical perspective, the resulting surface ocean pH would be
lower than it has been for more than 20 million years (Feely et al.,
2004).

**Effects of Ocean Acidification on Coral Reefs**

Many marine organisms that produce calcium carbonate shells are
negatively impacted by increasing carbon dioxide levels in seawater (and
the resultant decline in pH). For example, increasing ocean
acidification has been shown to significantly reduce the ability of
reef-building corals to produce their skeletons, affecting growth of
individual corals and making the reef more vulnerable to erosion
(Kleypas et al., 2006). Some estimates indicate that, by the end of this
century, coral reefs may erode faster than they can be rebuilt. This
could compromise the long-term viability of these ecosystems and perhaps
impact the thousands of species that depend on the reef habitat.
Decreased calcification may also compromise the fitness or success of
these organisms and could shift the competitive advantage towards
organisms that are not dependent on calcium carbonate. Carbonate
structures are likely to be weaker and more susceptible to dissolution
and erosion in a more acidic environment. In long-term laboratory and
mesocosm experiments corals that have been grown under lower pH
conditions for periods longer than one year have not shown any ability
to adapt their calcification rates to the low pH levels. In fact, a
recent study showed that the projected increase in CO~2~ is sufficient
to dissolve the calcium carbonate skeletons of some coral species (Fine
and Tchernov, 2007).

**Effects of Ocean Acidification on Fish and Shellfish**

Ongoing research is showing that decreasing pH may also have deleterious
effects on

commercially important fish and shellfish larvae. Both king crab and
silver seabream

larvae exhibit very high mortality rates in CO~2~-enriched waters
(Ishimatsu et al., 2004). Some of the experiments indicated that other
physiological stresses were also apparent. Exposure of fish to lower pH
levels can cause decreased respiration rates, changes in blood
chemistry, and changes in enzymatic activity. The calcification rates of
the edible mussel (*Mytilus edulis*) and Pacific oyster (*Crassostrea*
*gigas*) decline linearly with increasing CO~2~ levels (Gazeau et al.
2007). Squid are especially sensitive to ocean acidification because it
directly impacts their blood oxygen transport and respiration (Pörtner
et al., 2005). Sea urchins raised in lower-pH waters show evidence for
inhibited growth due to their inability to maintain internal acid-base
balance (Kurihara and Shirayama, 2004). The food supply of these
commercially valuable species is in jeopardy from ocean acidification.
Scientists have also seen a reduced ability of marine algae and
free-floating plants and animals to produce protective carbonate shells
(Feely et al., 2004; Orr et al., 2005). These organisms are important
food sources for other marine species. One type of free-swimming mollusk
called a pteropod is eaten by organisms ranging in size from tiny krill
to whales. In particular, pteropods are a major food source for North
Pacific juvenile salmon, and also serve as food for salmon, mackerel,
pollock, herring, and cod. Other marine calcifiers, such as
coccolithophores (microscopic algae), foraminifera (microscopic
protozoans), coralline algae (benthic algae), echinoderms (sea urchins
and starfish), and mollusks (snails, clams, and squid) also exhibit a
general decline in their ability to produce their shells with decreasing
pH (Kleypas et al., 2006).

**Effects on Marine Ecosystems**

Since ocean acidification research is still in its infancy, it is
impossible to predict exactly how the individual species responses will
cascade throughout the marine food chain and impact the overall
structure of marine ecosystems. It is clear, however, from both the
existing data and from the geologic record that some coral and shellfish
species will be negatively impacted in a high-CO~2~ ocean. The rapid
disappearance of many calcifying species in past extinction events has
been attributed, in large part, to ocean acidification events (Zachos et
al., 2005; Vernon, 2008). Over the next century, if CO~2~ emissions are
allowed to increase as predicted by the IPCC CO~2~ emissions scenarios,
mankind may be responsible for increasing oceanic CO~2~ and making the
oceans more corrosive to calcifying organisms than at anytime in the
last 20 million years. Thus, the decisions we make about carbon dioxide
emissions over the next several decades will probably have a profound
influence on the makeup of future marine ecosystems for centuries to
millennia.

**Potential Economic Impacts**

The impact of ocean acidification on fisheries and coral reef ecosystems
could reverberate through the U.S. and global economy. The U.S. is the
third largest seafood consumer in the world with total consumer spending
for fish and shellfish around \$70 billion per year. Coastal and marine
commercial fishing generates upwards of \$35 billion per year and
employs nearly 70,000 people (NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and
Technology; http://www.st.nmfs.gov/st1/fus/fus05/index.html). Increased
ocean acidification may directly or indirectly influence the fish stocks
because of large-scale changes in the local ecosystem dynamics. It may
also cause the dissolution of the newly

discovered deepwater corals in the Alaskan Aleutian Island region. Many
commercially

important fish species in this region depend on this particular habitat
for their survival.

Healthy coral reefs are the foundation of many viable fisheries, as well
as the source of

jobs and businesses related to tourism and recreation. In the Florida
Keys, coral reefs

attract more than \$1.2 billion in tourism annually. In Hawaii,
reef-related tourism and

fishing generate \$360 million per year, and their overall worth has
been estimated at

close to \$10 billion. In addition, coral reefs provide vital protection
to coastal areas that

are vulnerable to storm surges and tsunamis.

**NOAA Ocean Acidification Research**

Ocean acidification is an important new scientific frontier. NOAA
research activities offer significant contributions to improving our
understanding and assessing the impacts of this rapidly emerging issue.
NOAA research relevant to ocean acidification falls into the categories
of ocean observations, studies of the physiological impact on marine
species, and support of environmental and ecological modeling efforts.

For example, some on going work includes the following:

-   The **Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory**'s CO~2~ shipboard
    measurements and monitoring buoys provide data that helps NOAA
    discern seasonal changes in the oceanic carbon system.

-   The **Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory**
    monitors changes in CO~2~ and pH through the use of chemical sensors
    on ships and moorings.

-   The **NOAA Repeat Hydrography Program** provides valuable data on
    the large-scale changes of carbon system and ocean acidification
    over decadal time scales.

-   **NOAA\'s Coral Reef Conservation Program** plans to conduct a study
    starting in FY 2008 and continuing in FY 2009 to determine the
    impacts of global climate change and coral bleaching on the
    recreation and tourism industry in the Florida Keys.

-   **Sea Grant** supports research on the affects of ocean
    acidification on coral reefs in Hawaii.

-   **The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory** participated in the
    Ocean-Carbon Cycle Model Intercomparison Project (OCMIP2) to develop
    an international collaboration to improve the predictive capacity of
    carbon cycle models through evaluation and intercomparison.

-   **NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center** has been
    conducting exposure studies of blue king crab larval survival due to
    reduced pH.

-   **NOAA Fisheries Southwest Fisheries Science Center** has been
    evaluating the long-term impacts of low pH on marine plankton in the
    California Current and off Antarctica.

-   Projects funded by **NOAA Global Carbon Cycle** program at NOAA
    laboratories and universities provide necessary information to
    address the CO~2~ and pH changes in the ocean.

**NOAA Views on H.R. 4174, the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and
Monitoring Act of 2007**

As noted in our views letter on S. 1581, the companion bill to H.R.
4174, the Administration supports the intent of the *Federal Ocean
Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2007*, to develop an ocean
acidification research and monitoring plan, and appreciates the interest
of the Committee on this area of research. However, the bill creates an
interagency committee that is largely redundant with existing government
bodies.

In support of well-coordinated programs for climate change and ocean
science and technology, the Administration created two interagency
bodies under the National Science and Technology Council\-- the Climate
Change Science Program (CCSP) and the Joint Subcommittee on Ocean
Science and Technology (JSOST). Both bodies have been successful in
reducing the duplication of efforts in research programs, identifying
and addressing programmatic gaps, and synthesizing information for the
American public. Their organizational structure supports focused,
high-level interaction among Departments and agencies.

As disconcerting as the ramifications of ocean acidification may be, we
encourage the Committee to avoid the temptation of creating interagency
committees for each potential impact of climate change and rather work
within the framework of existing institutions.

The introduction of H.R. 4174 reflects recommendation of the national
and international scientific communities for a coordinated scientific
research program. The scientific community has identified four major
themes for a research program: (1) carbon system monitoring; (2)
calcification and physiological response studies under laboratory and
field conditions; (3) environmental and ecosystem modeling studies; and
(4) socio-economic risk assessments. This research will provide resource
managers with the basic information they need to develop strategies for
protection of critical species, habitats and ecosystems (similar to what
has already been developed for coral reef managers with the publication
of *the Reef Manager's Guide* by the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force to help
local and regional reef managers reduce the impacts of coral bleaching
to coral reef ecosystems).

Ocean acidification is an emerging issue, and research and monitoring
are of critical importance to a better understanding of the processes
involved. NOAA has a strong foundation in ocean acidification research
and as such would be able to provide strong leadership for an
interagency effort examining ocean acidification across the federal
government. Such an effort would support NOAA's mission, which is to
provide information to understand and predict changes in the Earth\'s
environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet
the nation\'s economic, social, and environmental needs. NOAA's unique
capacity to develop and deploy ocean observation systems can support
further examination of ocean acidification.

NOAA has already begun identifying key issues related to the potential
impacts of ocean acidification on fisheries and ecosystems, and we are
working with the National Academy of Science's Ocean Studies Board (OSB)
to prioritize future research and monitoring efforts. Science planning
workshops and a university office to foster academic research in ocean
acidification (among other responsibilities) has also been jointly
funded by the National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, and NOAA. It is important that NOAA and other
agencies coordinate laboratory studies and collaborate in the design of
appropriate field investigations. This will allow us to better assess
the threat and more precisely forecast the impacts of ocean
acidification on marine ecosystems, and the associated socioeconomic
consequences.

NOAA believes that the National Academy can provide an important bridge
between the academic community and federal agencies in designing and
implementing appropriate long-term cooperative studies and experiments
to determine how marine ecosystems may respond to ocean acidification. A
planned National Academy study, to be conducted through its OSB, will be
used to help design long term monitoring studies to monitor changes in
carbonate chemistry in vulnerable marine ecosystems of the United
States, and as a method to collaborate internationally. The OSB will
provide guidance regarding methods, frequency, and placement of
monitoring sensors and oceanographic sensing to track ocean
acidification over time, and in relation to changes in atmospheric
carbon dioxide. This work will be important in influencing the
interagency committee on ocean acidification as outlined in H.R. 4174.

We note that many of the timelines established by H.R. 4174 for
production of plans and reports appear ambitious. If NOAA is to consider
input from other committees and panels (e.g., the National Research
Council, the Ocean Research and Resources Advisory Panel, the Joint
Subcommittee on Ocean, Science, and Technology of the National Science
and Technology Council, the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, and other
expert scientific bodies) before it establishes a national program on
ocean acidification, it will require at least two years to coordinate.
Each of the committees and panels must be allowed some time to perform
their work before they can provide meaningful input back to NOAA, and
the Committee will require additional time to evaluate the different
input provided by each of the committees and panels before a final
recommendation to Congress can be made.

The Administration recommends that H.R. 4174 be modified to place
greater emphasis on changing ocean carbon chemistry, rather than
limiting the scope to pH. In particular, the impacts of the changing
levels of various forms of dissolved inorganic carbon and alkalinity
offer more comprehensive information on how changes in atmospheric
carbon dioxide concentrations are impacting our oceans. It is the
changes in the carbon system parameters that are at the heart of the
ocean acidification issue. In addition to atmospheric carbon dioxide,
there are secondary processes (such as changes in land use, continental
weathering, and emissions of other acidic compounds) that will also
influence carbonate chemistry and will thus need to be considered in any
research program.

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, it has been recently discovered that ocean acidification,
caused by the buildup of carbon dioxide and other acidic compounds in
the atmosphere, may have significant impacts on marine ecosystems.
Results from laboratory, field and modeling studies, as well as evidence
from the geological record, clearly indicate that marine ecosystems are
highly susceptible to the increases in oceanic CO~2~ and the
corresponding decreases in pH. Because of the very clear potential for
ocean-wide impacts of ocean acidification at all levels of the marine
ecosystem, from the tiniest phytoplankton to zooplankton to fish and
shellfish, we can expect to see significant impacts that are of immense
importance to mankind. Ocean acidification is an emerging scientific
issue and much research is needed before all of the ecosystems responses
are well understood. However, to the limit that the scientific community
understands this issue right now, the potential for environmental,
economic and societal risk is also quite high, hence demanding serious
and immediate attention. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to
address this Subcommittee. I look forward to answering your questions.

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