NOAA Ocean Acidification Program: 

Taking Stock and Looking Forward 

A Summary of the 2017 

Principal Investigators’ Meeting 

NOAA Technical Memorandum OAR-OAP-1

U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | Oceanic and Atmospheric Research

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NOAA Ocean Acidification Program: Taking Stock and 

Looking Forward 

A Summary of the 2017 Principal Investigators’ Meeting 

D. S. Busch, J. M. Bennett-Mintz, C. T. Armstrong, E. B. Jewett, D. K. Gledhill, and E. H.

Ombres

NOAA Technical Memorandum OAR-OAP-1 

March 2018

U.S. Department of Commerce 

Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Secretary 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

RDML Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D., USN Ret., Acting NOAA Administrator 

Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research 

Craig McLean, J.D., Acting Assistant Administrator for Ocean and Atmospheric Research 
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Recommended citation:

Busch, D. S., J. M. Bennett-Mintz, C. T. Armstrong, E. B. Jewett, D. K. Gledhill, E. H. Ombres. 

2018. NOAA Ocean Acidification Program: Taking Stock and Looking Forward, A summary of 

the 2017 Principal Investigators’ Meeting. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA Technical 

Memorandum OAR-OAP-1, 50 p.

Copies of this report may be obtained from:

Ocean Acidification Program 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

1315 East-West Highway [SSMC3/10356] 

Silver Spring, MD 20910 

Photo: 

NOAA Fairweather ship holds alongside NH10, a buoy which measure CO2 and pH off Oregon's 

coast, during the 2013 West Coast Ocean Acidification research cruise. Credit: NOAA
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Table of Contents 

1. Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. 4

2. Lessons learned by the OAP .................................................................................................... 4

3. OAP Portfolio ............................................................................................................................ 7

NATIONAL ....................................................................................................................................... 7

Environment ............................................................................................................................................. 8

Sensitivity ................................................................................................................................................ 11

Human dimensions ................................................................................................................................. 12

DATA MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................................... 13

OAP-FUNDED REGIONAL ACTIVITIES ......................................................................................... 14

ALASKA ......................................................................................................................................... 14

Environment ........................................................................................................................................... 14

Sensitivity ................................................................................................................................................ 15

Human dimensions ................................................................................................................................. 16

Research gaps identified by the stakeholder panel ................................................................................. 17

WEST COAST ................................................................................................................................ 17

Environment ........................................................................................................................................... 19

Sensitivity ................................................................................................................................................ 21

Human Dimensions................................................................................................................................. 24

Research gaps identified by the stakeholder panel ................................................................................. 24

CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEMS .......................................................................................................... 25

Environment ........................................................................................................................................... 26

Sensitivity ................................................................................................................................................ 27

Human dimensions ................................................................................................................................. 28

Research gaps identified by the stakeholder panel ................................................................................. 28

SOUTHEAST AND GULF OF MEXICO ............................................................................................. 29

Environment ........................................................................................................................................... 29

Sensitivity ................................................................................................................................................ 31

Human dimensions ................................................................................................................................. 31

Research gaps identified in the stakeholder panel ................................................................................. 31

NORTHEAST AND MID-ATLANTIC ................................................................................................ 32

Environment ........................................................................................................................................... 32

Sensitivity ................................................................................................................................................ 33

Human dimensions ................................................................................................................................. 35

Research gaps identified in the stakeholder panel ................................................................................. 35

INTERNATIONAL ........................................................................................................................... 36

Environment ........................................................................................................................................... 36

Sensitivity ................................................................................................................................................ 37

Human dimensions ................................................................................................................................. 38

4. The OAP Looks Forward ....................................................................................................... 38

Fostering collaboration .......................................................................................................................... 38

Investing in synthesis efforts ................................................................................................................... 38

Characterizing the environment ............................................................................................................. 39

Understanding sensitivity ....................................................................................................................... 39

Studying the social and economic implications of and adaptation to OA .............................................. 39

Appendix 1. National and regional tasks in the NOAA OA Plan. .......................................... 40

Appendix 2. NOAA OA PI Meeting Agenda ............................................................................ 44

Appendix 3. Participant List ...................................................................................................... 48
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1. Executive Summary

The NOAA Ocean Acidification Program (OAP) uses a multidisciplinary approach to understand 

how ocean chemistry is changing in response to ocean acidification (OA), how ecosystems are 

responding to these changes, and how human communities and economies may be affected. In 

close partnership with other NOAA programs, labs, and science centers, OAP supports an 

interdisciplinary range of intramural and extramural science in support of NOAA's mission and

communicates OA science to the public and stakeholders. The OAP resides in NOAA’s Office of 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), but is considered a “matrix program” involving 

multiple NOAA line offices including OAR; National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS); 

National Environmental, Satellite, and Data Information Service; National Ocean Service; and 

Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. Leveraging partnerships with programs and scientists 

across NOAA and other institutions, the OAP funds work guided by the NOAA Great Lakes and 

Ocean Acidification Research Plan (NOAA OA Plan), which outlines six themes with nationaland regional-scale tasks (Appendix 1). 

On January 4-6, 2017, the OAP convened a meeting of its partners and OAP-funded scientists in 

Seattle, Washington to take stock of its science portfolio and partnerships (Appendices 2, 3). 

This document summarizes the presentations and conversations that took place at the meeting, 

and records the advances that NOAA has made in OA science and communications. Meeting 

attendees expressed interest in OAP expanding its efforts to foster collaboration among scientists 

and between scientists and stakeholders, investing more in synthesis efforts, better characterizing 

the ocean environment through enhanced monitoring and high-resolution modeling, further 

improving our understanding of both the sensitivity and adaptive capacity of species and 

ecosystems, and promoting additional study of the social and economic implications of OA. 

OAP partners that attended the meeting provided an important voice in evaluating current work 

and setting the course for the future. 

2. Lessons learned by the OAP

Reflecting on the research taking place in each region (see Section 3), along with what the 

NOAA community has learned in the last six years, provides an opportunity for the OAP to 

identify lessons learned. 

A hallmark of the OAP is its ability to embrace its role as a matrix program. Emphasizing a 

collaborative approach among NOAA line offices has allowed the OAP to grow a relatively large 

and varied portfolio. Partnerships have been a key way that the OAP has worked with other 

organizations inside (Table 1) and outside of NOAA. In developing these partnerships, the OAP 

has sought out joint activities that fulfill the mission of both the OAP and the partnering 

group(s). For example, the OAP has partnered with NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean 

Science, National Sea Grant Program, and U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System to jointly 

fund grants of common interest. It has also worked with NMFS (i.e., Alaska, Northwest, and 

Northeast Fisheries Science Centers), National Ocean Service (i.e., Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries, Coral Reef Conservation Program), and others inside of the Office of Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Research programs (i.e., Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Atlantic 

Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, and Climate Program Office) to leverage OAP 

funds to build NOAA’s portfolio of OA science. For example, the Climate Program Office’s 
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Ocean Observing and Monitoring Division (OOMD) has funded the foundational observations 

and baseline understanding of inorganic carbon chemistry globally, and OAP has leveraged these 

investments. The OAP has also worked with other countries to launch the Global Ocean 

Acidification Observation Network (GOA-ON), which sets OA monitoring standards and fosters 

OA science worldwide, especially in countries with low scientific capacity. In addition to 

fostering collaboration among different organizations, the OAP has fostered a collaborative 

sentiment within and across traditional scientific “silos.” This has yielded an integrated, 

interdisciplinary research portfolio. By fostering interdisciplinary teams of investigators, the 

OAP has moved forward on its three-pronged approach to science, simultaneously addressing 

environmental exposure, species response, and human vulnerability. Such interdisciplinary 

research efforts are necessary for generating the high-level information requested by 

stakeholders and policy makers. The OAP’s investments in nowcasts, forecasts, and 

projections are an example of interdisciplinary science that stakeholders are requesting. Finally, 

the OAP has developed a robust education and outreach portfolio that is driven by the 2014 

NOAA OA Education Implementation Plan. This portfolio includes a strong presence online 

through its social media platforms and regular engagement with classroom and experiential 

educators. 

Table 1. NOAA groups that have partnered with the OAP to work on OA.

Line office Program/Laboratory

National Environmental, Satellite, and Data 

Information Service

Center for Satellite Applications and Research

National Centers for Environmental Information

National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Science and Technology

Alaska Fisheries Science Center

Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Northeast Fisheries Science Center

National Ocean Service National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science

Office for Coastal Management (includes Coral Reef

Conservation Program)

Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System Program

Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory

Climate Program Office

Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

National Sea Grant College Program

Office of Marine and Aviation Operations Ship fleet

NOAA and the OAP are leaders nationally and internationally for information and engagement 

on OA related issues. For example, the NOAA OAP director, Libby Jewett, chairs the U.S. 

Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification and co-chairs the Global Ocean 

Acidification Observing Network. OA efforts are really just getting underway, as major 

investment in the field of science and societal efforts around it are just over a decade old. OA 

stakeholders need information that is not yet available from scientific pursuits and the OAP is 

working to address this need by funding data syntheses and modeling work, which can help 
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address the “big questions” that the public are asking (i.e., Where are the OA hotspots and 

refugia? What can we do to protect marine resources from the impacts of OA?). Communicating 

the limits of our current knowledge requires careful attention, as does explaining why these 

limits exist. These new data synthesis products are being recognized both nationally and globally 

as important tools for expanding understanding of OA. 

Stakeholders for OA are diversifying; over the past few years, this has resulted in a growing 

interest and investment in OA science at all levels of government. As new information needs 

arise, the OAP expects to form new partnerships with which to tackle a diversifying portfolio. 

Examples of emerging science which will necessitate new partners include: the interaction of OA 

with hypoxia and harmful algal blooms, development of more robust place-based information, 

the role of coastal and estuarine processes in the development of OA conditions, how OA will 

influence wild-capture fisheries and related human systems, and social science and impacts, in 

general. 

Collaborations can advance OAP’s science portfolio by better capitalizing on existing efforts 

to address questions related to OA. For example, much headway could be made to understand 

the relationship between ocean carbon chemistry and biological communities by adding chemical 

measurements to existing biology-focused cruises (e.g., fisheries stock assessments) and vice 

versa. Additionally, summaries of OA could be incorporated into existing ecosystem “report 

cards” to help stakeholders track OA conditions. In addition, simulations of OA could be 

incorporated into existing ecosystem and biogeochemical models and earth system models could 

be updated to better reflect the latest OA science. Adding OA to existing efforts is a costeffective way to make headway on conducting and delivering OA science and better integrating 

it with other ecosystem considerations. 

As an emerging field of research, the OAP is poised to take advantage of and, in some cases, 

develop new technologies as its portfolio develops. A key challenge is how to bring new 

technologies into the OAP portfolio while continuing to support the OAP’s core portfolio of 

sustaining NOAA efforts and extramural awards. Advances in autonomous platforms (i.e., 

saildrone, carbon prawler, etc.) for observing the ocean’s chemistry and biological communities 

are rapid, and provide opportunities that have never before been available. These autonomous 

platforms often take advantage of new sensors, which are rapidly developing in the chemical and 

biological fields. New sensors are also needed to capitalize on the strong interest in monitoring 

related to OA by place-based groups and institutions (e.g., parks, marine stations, tribes, local 

governments), who typically do not have the capacity to become experts in OA science. Low 

cost instruments are being pushed for both national and international use by the GOA-ON 

community. The development of molecular techniques, often referred to as ‘omics, has yielded a 

powerful toolset for studying OA in the field and laboratory, and can be used to build datasets on 

presence/abundance, condition, acclimation, and adaptation. Similarly, advances in computer 

modeling and computing capacity have opened new opportunities for biogeochemical and 

ecosystem modeling. 
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3. OAP Portfolio

In an effort to integrate the various priority areas of the NOAA OA Plan, the OAP has adopted a 

three-pronged approach to assess the vulnerability of marine life, ecosystems, and human 

communities to OA: (1) document environmental change in response to OA, (2) characterize 

species and ecosystem sensitivity to that change, and (3) better understand the human dimensions 

implications of further projected change (Figure 1). The OAP seeks to identify the nation’s 

greatest vulnerabilities to OA which occur at the nexus of where there is significant human 

dependence on sensitive marine resources which are experiencing the greatest environmental 

change in response to OA. National monitoring informs modeling efforts that document changes 

in ocean and coastal carbonate chemistry so as to achieve a more comprehensive understanding 

of environmental change in response to OA. Laboratory experiments, fieldwork, and ecosystem 

models are used to determine how sensitive various species and ecosystems are to the identified 

changes and why they respond in the way that they do. Finally, what this could mean for society 

is addressed through a human dimensions component which examines the socio-economic 

impacts of OA, explores possible adaptation strategies, and conducts education and outreach. In 

order to address questions that are most relevant to human communities, this component of the 

portfolio works to incorporate stakeholder needs in designing monitoring and research strategies. 

Figure 1. The OAP aims to better understand the nation’s vulnerability to OA by utilizing a 

three-pronged approach to document environmental change, characterize species and ecosystem 

sensitivity to it, and better understand the human dimensions of projected change.

NATIONAL

Prior to the founding of the OAP, NOAA was conducting OA science in a largely uncoordinated 

fashion across many parts of the organization. The OAP has worked to grow and coordinate this 

portfolio making these efforts more robust while increasing the visibility of OA as an issue 

relevant to NOAA’s mission at regional, national, and international levels. 

This part of the document outlines the state of the agency’s progress on the national tasks 

detailed in the NOAA OA Plan. Specifics are given in the regional sections. We note that most 

projects funded by the OAP leverage support from other parts of NOAA or non-NOAA funds. 

We do not detail all funding sources for all projects in this narrative. 
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Environment

Over the past six years, the OAP has fostered the growth of the National Ocean Acidification 

Observation Network (NOA-ON), which utilizes stationary buoy platforms, hydrographic 

research cruises, and vessels equipped with autonomous sensors to quantify carbonate chemistry 

dynamics across a range of environments. The NOA-ON represents the U.S. contribution to the 

GOA-ON. At the time of the January 2017 meeting, there were 19 stationary moorings making 

surface carbonate chemistry observations nominally every 3 hours. Data from these stations are 

readily accessible online, currently with some latency due to quality assurance/quality control 

activities (Table 2, Figure 2). Additionally, the OAP funds the science cost to execute one 

regional, hydrographic, coastal cruise each year within designated U.S. coastal large marine 

ecosystems. Current funding allows for the reoccupation of the following US regions on an 

approximately 4-year cycle: Gulf of Alaska, California Current Ecosystem, East Coast (Nova 

Scotia to Florida), and the Gulf of Mexico. All of the cruises involve international partners and 

data collection in neighboring Exclusive Economic Zones. Volunteer observing ships (cargo 

ships and research vessels that act as ships of opportunity) use autonomous sensors to measure 

the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in coastal and open ocean surface waters. Measurements 

from volunteer observing ships generate an extensive collection of OA-relevant measures in 

coastal and open ocean waters across a broad variety of ecosystems throughout the US and more 

remote waters globally. US scientists, NOAA, and the NOA-ON have played a key leadership 

role in the formation of the global network GOA-ON, which works to establish a community of 

practice on ocean observations and syntheses products related to OA. 

Figure 2. (Left) OA moorings in US coastal, coral reef, and open ocean areas funded primarily 

or in part by the OAP. Not shown are moorings in the Indian Ocean, Iceland, Micronesia, 

Japan, and the eastern tropical Pacific. Background shading represents empirical estimates of 

aragonite saturation state based on observations from Jiang et al (2015) Global Biogeochemical 

Cycles, 29, 1656-1673. (Right) Aragonite saturation depth (m) during the 2016 West Coast 

Cruise (May – June). 
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Table 2. Location of OA moorings that are funded primarily by the OAP or to which the OAP 

contributes funding. “Funding Type” refers to support of OA sensors, not necessarily support of 

buoy and mooring infrastructure. 

Description Location Type Funding Type

Gulf of Maine Maine (USA) Coastal Primary

Coastal Mississippi Mississippi (USA) Coastal Primary

Gray’s Reef Georgia (USA) Coastal Primary

La Push Washington (USA) Coastal Primary

NH 10 Oregon (USA) Coastal Primary

CCE2 Southern California (USA) Coastal Primary

Gulf of Alaska Alaska (USA), Gulf of Alaska Coastal Primary

M2 Alaska (USA), Bering Sea Coastal Primary

La Parguera Puerto Rico (USA) Coral Reef Primary

Kaneohe Hawaii (USA) Coral Reef Primary

Cheeca Rocks Florida (USA) Coral Reef Primary

RAMA Bengal (India), Indian Ocean Open Ocean Primary

Iceland Iceland Open Ocean Primary

Papa North Pacific Ocean Open Ocean Contributor

WHOTS Hawaii (USA) Open Ocean Contributor

Stratus Eastern Tropical Pacific Open Ocean Contributor

KEO Japan Open Ocean Contributor

CCE1 Southern California (USA) Open Ocean Contributor

Chuuk Chuuk (Micronesia) Coral Reef Contributor

Models that characterize and, in some cases, forecast carbon chemistry dynamics have been 

created for areas of the US West Coast and coral reefs in the Caribbean and in Hawaii, and the 

development of similar models is underway for the US East Coast, Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of 

Mexico, and Alaska. For example, the Ocean Acidification Product Suite is a hybrid model 

developed to estimate and map the key OA parameters (i.e., pH, total alkalinity, aragonite and 

calcite saturation states, and the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2)) of surface water in the 

Caribbean and part of the Gulf of Mexico (Figure 3). 
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Figure 3. Projection map of aragonite saturation conditions from the Ocean Acidification 

Product Suite. 

Relevant publications: 

Using present-day observations to detect when anthropogenic change forces surface ocean 

carbonate chemistry outside pre-industrial bounds. Sutton, A.J., Sabine, C.L., Feely, R.A., Cai, 

W.-J., Cronin, M.F., McPhaden, M.J., Morell, J.M., Newton, J.A., Noh, J.-H., Olafsdottir, S.R., 

Salisbury, J.E., Send, U., Vandemark, D.C., Weller, R.A. Biogeosciences 13: 5065-5083, 

doi:10.5194/bg-13-5065-2016, September 2016. 

A high-frequency atmospheric and seawater pCO2 data set from 14 open-ocean sites using a 

moored autonomous system. Sutton, A.J., Sabine, C.L., Maenner-Jones, S., Lawrence-Slavas, N., 

Meinig, C, Felly, R.A., Mathis, J.T., Musielewicz, S., Bott, R., McLain, P.D., Fought, H.J., 

Kozyr, A. Earth System Science Data 6: 353-366, doi:10.5194/essd-6-353-2014, November 

2014.

Internal consistency of marine carbonate system measurements and assessments of aragonite 

saturation state: Insights from two U.S. coastal cruises. Patsavas, M.C., Byrne, R.H., 

Wanninkhof, R., Feely, R.A., Cai, W.-J. Marine Chemistry 176: 9-20, 

doi:10.1016/j.marchem.2015.06.022, November 2015. 

Characterizing the natural system: Toward sustained, integrated coastal ocean acidification 

observing networks to facilitate resource management and decision support. Alin, S.R., Brainard, 

R.E., Price, N.N., Newton, J.A., Cohen, A., Peterson, W.T., DeCarlo, E.H., Shadwick, E.H.,

Noakes, S., Bednaršek, N. Oceanography 28(2):92–107, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2015.34, June

2015.
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Coastal ocean acidification: The other eutrophication problem. Wallace, R.B., Baumann, H., 

Grear, J.S., Aller, R.C., Gobler, C.J. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 148:1-13, 

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2014.05.027, July 2014. 

An assessment of ocean margin anaerobic processes on oceanic alkalinity budget. Hu, X., Cai, 

W.-J. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 25(3), doi:10.1029/2010GB003859, July 2011. 

Carbonate mineral saturation states along the U.S. east coast. Jiang, L.-Q., Cai, W.-J., Feely, R., 

Wang, A. Y., X. Guo, Gledhill, D. K., Hu, X., Arzayus, F., Chen, F., Hartmann, J., Zhang, L. 

Limnology and Oceanography,55(6): 2424-2432, doi:10.4319/lo.2010.55.6.2424, November 

2010. 

Alkalinity distribution in the western North Atlantic Ocean margins. Cai, W.‐J., Hu X, Huang, 

W.‐J., Jiang, L.‐Q .,Wang, Y., Peng, T.‐H., Zhang, X. Journal of Geophysical Research 115(8), 

doi:10.1029/2009JC005482, October 2010. 

An international observational network for ocean acidification. Feely, R.A., Fabry, V.J., 

Dickson, A.G., Gattuso, J.-P., Bijma, J., Riebesell, U., Doney, S., Turley, C., Saino, T., Lee, K., 

Anthony, K., Kleypas, J. Proceedings of Ocean Observations, doi:10.5270/OceanObs09.cwp.29, 

January 2010. 

Sensitivity 

NOAA OAP supports species response work at several NOAA Fisheries Science Centers and 

academic institutions around the U.S. This research focuses on the survival, growth, and 

physiology of economically and ecologically important marine species. Results can be used to 

explore how aquaculture, wild fisheries, and food webs may change as ocean chemistry changes. 

OAP support has led to the development of multiple experimental systems for studying species 

response to changes in carbonate chemistry at NOAA facilities and universities. Experimental 

systems at the NOAA Fisheries Science Centers are used primarily by NOAA scientists, but 

have also involved collaborative work with academic scientists and students interested in species 

response to OA. The OAP has also provided support for modeling efforts that aim to better 

understand the carbon chemistry conditions that species are and will be exposed to in the wild as 

they move through the marine environment. This work links chemical observations to estimates 

of species sensitivity to carbonate chemistry conditions. For example, scientists at the Northwest 

Fisheries Science Center have built a system that can control carbon dioxide, temperature, and 

oxygen conditions and mimic the diel variability in these parameters that occurs in coastal 

environments (Figure 4). Scientists using this facility design variable treatments for experiments 

based on output of a model that combines carbonate chemistry conditions in Puget Sound with 

species habitat preferences and behavior. 
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Figure 4. Experimental system at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center’s Mukilteo Research 

Station that was developed to study species response to OA and other stressors related to climate 

change. Photo credit: Benjamin Drummond/bdsjs.com. 

Human dimensions

Projections of population and ecosystem change due to OA and the potential impacts of these 

changes for fisheries yield and protected species management have been developed for Alaska, 

U.S. West Coast, and the northeast U.S. Projects that aim to collect data and create models that 

can inform decisions about management of oyster reefs and nutrient pollution are underway. 

Along the U.S. West Coast, Alaska, Gulf of Maine, and Chesapeake Bay, shellfish growers, 

hatchery owners, and scientists are working together to understand how best to adapt to OA. 

They are monitoring seawater conditions, implementing management practices, and/or deploying 

treatment systems that maintain and increase hatchery yield.

The NOAA OAP keeps the public abreast of the research taking place and the tools available to 

stakeholders by communicating on various platforms, including its website and various social 

media accounts. The OAP fosters stakeholder engagement on a regional scale by supporting the 

networks of scientists, managers, and stakeholders that have formed in six coastal regions around 

the US. 

Relevant publications: 

Introduction to this special issue on ocean acidification: The pathway from science to policy.

Mathis, J.T., Cooley, S.R., Yates, K.K., Williamson, P. Oceanography 28(2):10–15, 

doi:10.5670/oceanog.2015.26, June 2015. 
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Understanding, characterizing, and communicating responses to ocean acidification: challenges 

and uncertainties. Busch, D.S., O’Donnell, M.J., Hauri, C., Mach, K.J., Poach, M., Doney, S. C., 

Signorini, S.R. Oceanography 28(2):30–39, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2015.29, June 2015. 

Getting ocean acidification on decision makers’ to-do lists: dissecting the process through case 

studies. Cooley, S.R., Jewett, E.B., Reichert, J., Robbins, L., Shrestha, G., Wieczorek, D. 

Weisberg, S.B. Oceanography 28(2):198–211, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2015.42, June 2015. 

Vulnerability and adaptation of US shellfisheries to ocean acidification. Ekstom, J.A., Suatoni, 

L., Cooley, S.R., Pendleton, L.H., Waldbusser, G.G., Cinner, J.E., Ritter, J., Langdon, C., van 

Hooidonk, R., Gledhill, D., Wellman, K., Beck, M.W., Brander, L.M., Rittschof, D., Doherty, C., 

Edwards, P.E.T., Portela, R. Nature Climate Change 5: 207-214, doi:10.1038/nclimate2508, 

February 2015. 

DATA MANAGEMENT

The NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) serve as the NOAA OA 

data management focal point under the Ocean Acidification Data Stewardship (OADS) project.

OADS leverages some of the best technical infrastructure for ocean data management at NCEI, 

including long-term archive, version control, stable data citation with digital object identifiers 

(DOIs), and managing controlled vocabularies. On top of that, OADS developed a metadata 

standard that is capable of accommodating rich metadata information for OA data collected from 

research vessels, moorings, models, laboratory/mesocosm studies, and other efforts. With the 

modern metadata template, OADS has established metadata display formats that enable serving 

rich metadata information about OA data sets to users in a user-friendly interface. OADS has 

also developed an OA data search portal to allow users to discover and access OA data sets by 

using checkboxes, dropdown menus, and auto-complete text boxes. Over the last three years, 

OADS has been working with the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory to develop an 

advanced submission interface called Scientific Data Integration System. Upon completion, this 

interface will make data submission (i.e. metadata input, data uploading) much easier, which will 

significantly improve efficiency. It will also automate many back-end procedures within the 

NCEI, thus allowing OADS to be more focused on improving the scientific content of the OAPfunded data. Work on this project has focused on a metadata entry tool and data submission, data 

verification, and quality control tools for profile data. 

Relevant publications: 

Data management strategy to improve global use of ocean acidification data and information. 

Garcia, H.E., Cosca, C., Kozyr, A., Mayorga, E., Chandler, C., Thomas, R.W., O’Brien, K.,

Appeltans, W., Hankin, S., Newton, J.A., Gutierrez, A., Gattuso, J.-P., Hansson, L., Zweng, M., 

Pfeil, B. Oceanography 28(2):226–228, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2015.45, June 2015. 

An inter-laboratory comparison assessing the quality of seawater carbon dioxide measurements. 

Bockman, E.E., Dickson, A.G. Marine Chemistry 171:36–43, 

doi:0.1016/j.marchem.2015.02.002, February 2015. 

A metadata template for ocean acidification data. Jiang, L.-Q., O'Connor, S.A., Arzayus, K.M., 

Kozyr, A., Parsons, A.R. Earth System Science Data Discussions 8:1-21, doi:10.5194/essdd-8-1-

2015, January 2015. 
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OAP-FUNDED REGIONAL ACTIVITIES

ALASKA

In Alaska, research has been conducted to characterize the environment, and understand species 

sensitivity to and human dimensions of OA.

Figure 5. Summary of tasks outlined in NOAA OA Plan for Alaska 

Environment 

The OAP funds two moorings to characterize and track Alaska’s ocean carbon chemistry, one in 

the northern Gulf of Alaska and the other in the Bering Sea. The five Large Marine Ecosystems 

that comprise Alaska’s marine waters have also been targeted by research cruises, volunteer 

observing ships, and autonomous underwater vehicles for other monitoring and process-based 

work. The first Gulf of Alaska synoptic cruise occurred in 2015 with significant leverage from 

the National Science Foundation. The collection of observations and process studies from Alaska 

have revealed that subsurface waters in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean are 

highly enriched in CO2 due to remineralization of spring algal blooms. Surface waters in the 

Beaufort Sea are currently undersaturated with respect to aragonite (annual average), and the 

same is predicted for the Chukchi and Bering Seas by 2033 and 2062, respectively. In the Gulf of 

Alaska, current-day aragonite undersaturation results primarily from glacial melt. In the Bering 

Sea, OA has increased the duration of undersaturation events, such that they are now persistent 

enough to cause dissolution of calcium carbonate shells and skeletons. Chemistry-related 

activities in the Alaska research portfolio have touched on all aspects of work outlined in the 

NOAA OA Plan, with work related to developing regional biogeochemical models (Task 2.3.2, 

Figure 5) currently supported by the Alaska Ocean Observing System.

TASKS OUTLINED IN NOAA OA PLAN FOR ALASKA

Developing an Ocean 

Acidification Monitoring 

Network 

• Task 2.1: Develop and implement program for monitoring carbon-cycle-related

oceanographic parameters off Alaska.

Organism response to 

Ocean Acidification

• Task 2.2.1 Create state-of the-art facilities for conducting ocean acidification

experiments on individual species and species assemblages

• Task 2.2.2: Conduct acidification response experiments on species and species

assemblages of interest in Alaska ecosystems.

Biogeochemical and 

Ecosystem Models

• Task 2.3.1: Develop models to predict how Alaska ecosystems will change in

response to ocean acidification and alternative ocean management actions.

• Task 2.3.2: Develop regional biogeochemical models coupled to global carbon

cycle models to predict local changes in carbon chemistry at multiple temporal

scales.

Human Dimensions • Task 2.4: Estimate economic consequences for Alaska king crab fisheries due to

ocean acidification.

Synthesis of Data and 

Information Products 

• Task 2.5: Synthesize, archive, and report results of ocean acidification research in

products usable for fisheries management.

Engagement Strategy 

• Task 2.6: Implement an education and outreach program to communicate the

science, economic, and ecosystem consequences of ocean acidification to the

public and stakeholder communities.
15

Relevant publications: 

Ocean acidification in the surface waters of the Pacific-Arctic boundary regions. Mathis, J.T., 

Cross, J.N., Evans, W., Doney, S.C. Oceanography 28(2):122–135, 

doi:10.5670/oceanog.2015.36, June 2015. 

Sensitivity 

Sensitivity work in Alaska has focused on groundfish, crabs, and deep-sea corals. Laboratory 

studies at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) facility in Newport, Oregon indicate that 

the growth and survival of early life stages of Northern Rock Sole respond more negatively to 

OA conditions than those of Walleye Pollock. Work is currently underway to assess how OA 

conditions might influence behavior. AFSC researchers have pursued two avenues with deep-sea 

corals. A review of the mineralogy of 62 Alaska deep-sea coral species identified that some 

species can switch the form of calcium carbonate crystal used to build their skeleton, potentially

in response to life history or environmental conditions. A laboratory exposure study on the red 

tree coral (Primnoa pacifica) was done at the Kodiak AFSC Lab. Researchers collected data on 

fecundity, oocyte development, and sclerite and skeletal morphology. 

The Kodiak AFSC Lab has done a number of studies on king (red, blue, golden) and Tanner crab 

early life stages (egg, embryo, larval, juvenile) and adults; many of these studies span two 

generations. Response metrics include survival, development, growth, respiration, shell 

composition, shell mechanics, genomics, and hemolymph measurements. These research efforts 

show overall negative impacts of OA on crabs but evidence of phenotypic plasticity. Work is 

now focused on understanding the importance of OA-induced life-history trade-offs to 

population dynamics. Besides monitoring zooplankton on the 2015 Gulf of Alaska synoptic 

cruise, no other biology fieldwork has been done in this region. Development of models to 

predict how Alaska ecosystems will change in response to OA and alternative ocean 

management actions are underway as part of the NMFS-funded Alaska Climate Integrated 

Modeling Project. With the inclusion of this NMFS-funded project, the Alaska Enterprise 

research in this component addresses all sensitivity tasks in the NOAA OA Plan (Figure 5). 

Relevant publications: 

Ocean acidification leads to altered micromechanical properties of the mineralized cuticle of 

juvenile red and blue king crabs. Coffey, W.D., Yarram, A., Matoke, B., Long, W.C., Swiney, 

K.M., Foy, R.J., and Dickenson, G. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology,

495:1-12, doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2017.05.011, October 2017.

Decreased pH and increased temperatures affect young-of-the-year red king crab (Paralithodes

camtschaticus). Swiney K.M., Long W.C., Foy R.J. ICES Journal of Marine Science 74(4):1191-

1200, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsw251, April 2017. 

Survival, growth, and morphology of blue king crabs: Effect of ocean acidification decreases 

with exposure time. Long, W.C., Van Sant, S.B., Swiney, K.M., and Foy, R. ICES Journal of 

Marine Science, 74:1033-1041, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsw197, April 2017. 
16

Elevated CO2 does not exacerbate nutritional stress in larvae of a Pacific flatfish. Hurst T.P., 

Laurel B.J., Hanneman E., Haines S.A., Ottmar M.L. Fisheries Oceanography, 

doi:10.1111/fog.12195, January 2017. 

Effects of high pCO2 on Tanner crab reproduction and early life history—Part I: Long-term 

exposure reduces hatching success and female calcification, and alters embryonic development.

Swiney, K.M., Long, W.C., Foy, R.J. ICES Journal of Marine Science 73(3):825-

835, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsv201, March 2016.

Effects of high pCO2 on Tanner crab reproduction and early life history, Part II: Carryover 

effects on larvae from oogenesis and embryogenesis are stronger than direct effects. Swiney, 

K.M., Long, W.C., Foy, R.J. ICES Journal of Marine Science 73:836-848,

doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsv251, March 2016.

Effects of elevated CO2 levels on eggs and larvae of a North Pacific flatfish. Hurst, T.P., Laurel, 

B.J., Mathis, J.T., Tobosa, L.R. ICES Journal of Marine Science 73(3):981-990,

doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsv050, March 2016.

Ocean acidification affects hemocyte physiology in the tanner crab (Chionoecetes bairdi). 

Meseck, S.L., Alix, J.H., Swiney, K.M., Long, W.C., Wikfors, G.H., Foy, R.J. PLoS ONE, 

11(2), e0148477. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0148477, February 2016. 

Effects of ocean acidification on hatch size and larval growth of walleye pollock (Theragra 

chalcogramma). Hurst, T.P., Fernandez, E.R., Mathis, J.T. ICES Journal of Marine Science 

70(4):812–822, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fst053, June 2013. 

Effects of ocean acidification on juvenile red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) and Tanner 

crab (Chionoecetes bairdi) growth, condition, calcification, and survival. Long, W.C., Swiney, 

K.M., Harris, C., Page, H.N., Foy, R.J. Plos One 8(4): e60959,

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0060959, April 2013.

Effects of ocean acidification on the embryos and larvae of red king crab, Paralithodes 

camtschaticus. Long, W.C., Swiney, K.M., Foy, R.J. Marine Pollution Bulletin 69(1-2): 38-47, 

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.01.011, April 2013. 

Resiliency of juvenile walleye pollock to projected levels of ocean acidification. Hurst, T.P., 

Fernandez, E.R., Mathis, J.T., Miller, J.A., Stinson, C.M., Ahgeak, E.F. Aquatic Biology 17: 

247–259, doi:10.3354/ab00483, December 2012. 

Human dimensions

Results from the Kodiak Lab work on red king and Tanner crabs have been used in bioeconomic 

models to assess how OA could influence catch and profits from these two fisheries. Researchers 

from a variety of disciplines and funded primarily by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 

NOAA, and Alaska Ocean Observing System assessed and mapped the vulnerability of 

communities in Alaska to changes in subsistence and commercial fisheries. 
17

The Alaska Ocean Acidification Network launched in 2016. The Network aims to engage 

scientists and stakeholders, expand the understanding of OA processes and consequences in 

Alaska, and foster adaptation strategies. 

Relevant publications: 

Effects of long-term exposure to ocean acidification conditions on future southern Tanner crab 

(Chionoecetes bairdi) fisheries management. Punt, A.E., Foy, R.J., Dalton, M.G., Long, W.C., 

Swiney, K.M. ICES Journal of Marine Science 73(3):849-864, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsv205, 

March 2016. 

Evaluating the impact of ocean acidification on fishery yields and profits: The example of red 

king crab in Bristol Bay. Punt, A.E., Poljak, D., Dalton, M.G., Foy, R.J. Ecological Modelling 

285:39-53, doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2014.04.017, August 2014. 

Ocean acidification risk assessment for Alaska’s fishery sector. Mathis, J.T., Cooley, S.R., 

Lucey, N., Colt, S., Ekstrom, J., Hurst, T., Cauri, C., Evans, W., Cross, J.N., Feely, R.A. 

Progress in Oceanography 136:71-91, doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2014.07.001, July 2014. 

Research gaps identified by the stakeholder panel 

To meet stakeholder needs, future research efforts should identify which culturally and/or 

economically important species and food webs are most vulnerable to OA and develop 

projections of the time horizons to OA-induced changes in chemistry or thresholds that could 

alter ecosystem function. There is also interest in better communication about OA to increase 

awareness, engagement, and education on the issue. Tribes are an audience of particular interest 

for these efforts given their concerns about changes in food security. However, there is also 

concern that the OA community does not have enough scientific capacity to answer important 

stakeholder questions. Researchers working in Alaska are discussing whether to focus OA 

research on fished species, expected hotspots of change, or an amalgam of the two approaches. 

WEST COAST

The West Coast is considered the nation’s leader on the issue of OA, likely because it is the site 

of the world’s first high-profile impact of OA (Oregon and Washington oyster hatcheries) and is 

home to a strong community of stakeholders and scientists that have worked together on the 

issue over the past decade. 
18

Figure 6. Summary of tasks outlined in NOAA OA Plan for the West Coast 

TASKS OUTLINED IN NOAA OA PLAN FOR THE WEST COAST 

Developing an Ocean 

Acidification Monitoring 

Network 

• Task 3.1.1: Develop and implement a program for monitoring carbon-cyclerelated oceanographic parameters on the West Coast.

• Task 3.1.2: Establish a Pacific Center of Expertise for ocean carbon chemistry at

PMEL.

• Task 3.1.3: Develop and implement a program for biological monitoring to

detect ecosystem changes caused by acidification and changes in biology that

affect the carbon cycle on the West Coast.

• Task 3.1.4: Establish an immediate monitoring program focused on bivalve

recruitment patterns.

• Task 3.1.5: Establish Intensively Studied Marine Areas for monitoring ocean

acidification.

Organism response to 

Ocean Acidification 

• Task 3.2.1: Create a state-of-the-art NOAA facility on the West Coast for

conducting ocean acidification experiments on individual species and species

assemblages.

• Task 3.2.2: Support development of collaborative facilities for acidification

response experiments.

• Task 3.2.3: Conduct acidification response experiments on species and species

assemblages of interest in West Coast ecosystems.

• Task 3.2.4: Assess the calcium carbonate mineralogy of species important to

West Coast ecosystems.

• Task 3.2.5: Correlate hindcasts of West Coast saturation states with historical

biological timeseries of species abundance to estimate how species and

communities responded to past changes in saturation state.

• Task 3.2.6: Explore technologies for in situ open ocean and semi-permeable

mesocosm experiments to test predictions from ecosystem models and species

not amenable to laboratory culture.

• Task 3.2.7: Conduct laboratory and field experiments on potential local

mitigation methods.

Biogeochemical and 

Ecosystem Models 

• Task 3.3.1: Develop regional biogeochemical models coupled to global carbon

cycle models to predict local changes in carbon chemistry at multiple temporal

scales.

• Task 3.3.2: Design and implement experiments and observation projects to

estimate critical parameters for regional carbon models.

• Task 3.3.3: Develop and apply algorithms to reconstruct historical carbon

chemistry conditions over local to regional scales.

• Task 3.3.4: Develop models to predict how West Coast ecosystems will change

in response to ocean acidification and alternative ocean management actions.

Human Dimensions 

• Task 3.4.1: Estimate anticipated changes to West Coast ecosystem services as a

consequence of ocean acidification.

• Task 3.4.2: Develop technical tools for evaluating the consequences of potential

management actions related to ocean acidification on the West Coast to create

more effective management strategies.

Synthesis of Data and 

Information Products 

• Task 3.5.1: Develop and participate in effective management and dissemination

of regionally produced data and data products related to ocean acidification.

Engagement Strategy 

• Task 3.6.1: Implement an education and outreach program to communicate the

science and ecosystem consequences of ocean acidification to the West Coast

public and stakeholder communities.
19

Environment 

Four OAP-funded, fixed-observing assets monitor ocean carbon chemistry along the west coast, 

two off California (associated with the CalCOFI project), one off central Oregon, and another off 

northern Washington. Regional synoptic cruises in 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2016 have 

provided spatially explicit datasets to complement the time-series datasets from the fixedobserving assets. Ships of opportunity, observations made by the National Marine Sanctuaries 

along the West Coast, and wave gliders have provided additional data to characterize the region 

and understand the processes driving regional carbon chemistry conditions. These data have been 

used to model and document the progression of OA over time, the influence of upwelling on 

ocean chemistry conditions, and the anthropogenic contribution to these conditions. To better 

understand how OA is impacting the 

shellfish industry, NOAA and academic 

scientists have partnered with industry 

members to monitor carbon chemistry in 

shellfish hatcheries. Development and 

testing of monitoring technology is an 

important part of the west coast OA 

portfolio. Progress has been made on all 

tasks in the NOAA OA plan related to 

chemical observations (Figure 6). A suite 

of modeling projects has characterized and 

projected west coast carbon chemistry 

conditions. Regional algorithms have been 

developed to estimate carbon chemistry 

conditions from measurements of ocean 

temperature, oxygen, and/or salinity. 

These relationships have been used to 

expand spatial understanding of carbon 

dynamics and hindcast past conditions. A 

dynamic seascape model approach has 

been adopted to generate a “nowcast” of 

current chemistry conditions using an 

understanding of water masses. A model 

characterizing ocean hypoxia and 

acidification using ocean circulation, 

biogeochemistry, and lower-trophic-level 

ecosystem parameters is being developed 

to understand the relative contributions of 

natural climate variability, anthropogenic 

climate change, and anthropogenic inputs 

of CO2 and nutrients on the status and 

trends of hypoxia and acidification in the 

California Current. The Joint Institute for the study of the Atmosphere and Ocean (JISAO) 

Seasonal Coastal Ocean Prediction of the Ecosystem (JSCOPE) model, which provides 

experimental seasonal forecasts (six to nine months) of upper-ocean properties based on 

operational simulations by NOAA's Climate Forecast System model and dynamical downscaling 

Figure 7. The Newport Line, where transects and 

stations are sampled during frequent cruises by 

National Marine Fisheries Service.
20

with a high-resolution version of a Regional Ocean Model System, was recently extended to 

develop seasonal forecasts of OA conditions in the Pacific Northwest. Collectively, this work has 

addressed all three chemistry modeling tasks in the NOAA OA Plan (Figure 6). 

Assessment of pteropod shells collected along the west coast show patterns of dissolution that 

correlate with waters undersaturated with respect to aragonite. Models indicate that this 

dissolution is likely a modern phenomenon related to anthropogenically driven OA. Work is also 

underway to relate Dungeness crab megalopae distributions and condition to carbon chemistry 

conditions. The task in the NOAA OA Plan related to monitoring of bivalve recruitment is 

currently being done by some West Coast states (Task 3.1.4, Figure 6), and more needs to be 

done to develop a robust monitoring program for the biological impacts of OA (Task 3.1.3, 

Figure 6). Biological observations have been regularly collected along the Newport Line (Figure 

7) since 1996, and, with discrete carbon chemistry samples and modeled hindcasts of chemistry

conditions, could be used to assess potential relationships between biological communities and

OA. Samples of zooplankton, harmful algal bloom species, and microbes have been collected on

the West Coast synoptic cruises; these samples are the first step towards developing a monitoring

program for the biological impacts of OA. OA monitoring activities conducted by West Coast

National Marine Sanctuaries complement OAP-funded monitoring, providing additional valuable

data sets.

Relevant publications: 

The combined effects of acidification and hypoxia on pH and aragonite saturation in the coastal 

waters of the Californian Current Ecosystem and the northern Gulf of Mexico. Feely, R.A., 

Okazaki, R.R., Cai, W.–J., Bednaršek, N., Alin, S.R., Byrne, R.H., Fassbender, A. Continental 

Shelf Research 152:50-60, doi:10.1016/j.csr.2017.11.002, January 2018. 

Persistent spatial structuring of coastal ocean acidification in the California Current System. 

Chan, F., Barth, J.A., Blanchette, C.A., Byrne, R.H., Chavez, F., Cheriton, O., Feely, R.A., 

Friederich, G., Gaylord, B., Gouhier, T., Hacker, S., Hill, T., Hofmann, G., McManus, M.A., 

Menge, B.A., Nielsen, K J., Russell, A., Sanford, E., Sevadjian, J., Washburn, L. Scientific 

Reports 7:2526, doi:10.1038/s41598-017-02777-y, April 2017. 

Chemical and biological impacts of ocean acidification along the west coast of North America.

Feely, R.A., Alin, S., Carter, B., Bednaršek, N., Hales, B., Chan, F., Hill, T.M., Gaylord, B., 

Sanford, E., Byrne, R.H., Sabine, C.L., Greeley, D., Juranek, L. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf

Science 183(A): 260–270, doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2016.08.043, December 2016.

Impact of the Blob on the northeast Pacific Ocean biogeochemistry and ecosystems. Siedlecki, 

S., Bjorkstedt, E., Feely, R.A., Sutton, A., Cross, J. and Newton, J., U.S. CLIVAR Variations 

14(2):7-12, http://usclivar.org/newsletter/newsletters, 2016. 

Estimating total alkalinity in the Washington State coastal zone: Complexities and surprising 

utility for ocean acidification research. Fassbender, A.J., Alin, S.R., Feely, R.A., Sutton, A.J., 

Newton, J.A., Byrne, R.H. Estuaries and Coasts 40(2):404-418, doi:10.1007/s12237-016-0168-z,

October 2016. 
21

The carbonate chemistry of the “fattening line,” Willapa Bay, 2011–2014. Hales, B., Suhrbier, 

A., Waldbusser, G.G., Feely, R.A., Newton, J.A. Estuaries and Coasts 40(1): 173-186, 

doi:10.1007/s12237-016-0136-7, August 2016.

Experiments with seasonal forecasts of ocean conditions for the northern region of the California

Current upwelling system. Siedlecki, S.A., Kaplan, I.C., Hermann, A.J., Nguyen, T.T., Bond,

N.A., Newton, J.A., Williams, G.D., Peterson, W.T., Alin, S.R., Feely, R.A. Scientific Reports

6:27203, doi:10.1038/srep27203, June 2016.

Interpretation and design of ocean acidification experiments in upwelling systems in the context

of carbonate chemistry co-variation with temperature and oxygen. Reum, J.C.P., Alin, S.R., 

Harvey, C.J., Bednarsek, N., Evans, W., Feely, R.A., Hales, B., Lucey, N, Mathis, J.T., 

McElhany, P., Newton, J., Sabine, C.L. ICES Journal of Marine Science 73(3):582-

595, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsu231, March 2016.

Core principles of the California Current acidification network: Linking chemistry, physics, and

ecological effects. McLaughlin, K., Weisberg, S.B., Dickson, A.G., Hofmann, G.E., Newton,

J.A., Aseltine-Neilson, D., Barton, A., Cudd, S., Feely, R.A., Jefferds, I., Jewett, E.B., King, T., 

Langdon, C.J., McAfee, S., Pleschner-Steele, D., and Steele, B. Oceanography 28(2):160–169, 

doi:10.5670/oceanog.2015.39, June 2015.

Aragonite saturation state dynamics in a coastal upwelling zone. Harris, K.E., DeGrandpre, 

M.E., Hales, B. Geophysical Research Letters 40(11):2720-2725, June 2013.

Robust empirical relationships for estimating the carbonate system in the southern California

Current System and application to CalCOFI hydrographic cruise data (2005–2011). Alin, S.R., 

Feely, R.A., Dickson, A.G., Hernández-Ayón, J.M., Juranek, L.W., Ohman, M.D., and Goericke, 

R. Journal of Geophysical Research 117:C05033, doi:10.1029/2011JC007511, May 2012. 

Scientific summary of ocean acidification in Washington State marine waters. Feely, R.A., 

Klinger, T., Newton, J.A., Chadsey, M. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Agency Ocean and Atmospheric Research Special Report, November 2012.

Sensitivity

Laboratory work on the west coast has focused on the response of Dungeness crab early-life 

stages to changes in carbon chemistry. This species shows decreased survival and development 

rate under high CO2. Work on how the combination of high CO2 and either high temperature or 

low oxygen levels affects the species is underway, and includes measurement of respiration rate, 

metabolomics, and population genetics. Laboratory and shipboard experiments have improved 

knowledge of how OA decreases pteropod shell condition and survival. Additional laboratory 

work is underway looking at pteropod survival and metabolomics under high CO2 and low 

oxygen conditions. Work done in collaboration with academic colleagues has found that 

development rates and survival of krill larvae are lower in high CO2 conditions. NOAA and 

University of Washington researchers are currently studying how high CO2 conditions affect 

salmon and sablefish olfactory sensitivity and geoduck larval survival, growth, and epigenetics. 

A project funded by the Allen Foundation (which includes NOAA scientists) is exploring the 
22

role of kelp production as a way to mitigate OA conditions at a local level. Four of the biological 

research tasks (Task 3.2.1-4, Figure 6) in the NOAA OA Plan are being addressed directly, while

the task on mitigation work is largely addressed by state and university scientists with nonNOAA funding sources (Task 3.2.7). Other agencies and countries have funded mesocosm-based 

work, which has proved technologically challenging (Task 3.2.6). The task on the correlation of 

biological time-series with hindcasts of ocean carbon chemistry conditions (Task 3.2.5) has not 

been addressed to date, but is being worked on in FY 18-20.

A variety of modeling work in the region is improving our understanding of species and 

ecosystem sensitivity to OA at scales not possible by manipulative experiments alone; it also 

serves as a regional synthesis of the research findings. Recent meta-analyses of species response 

studies estimate the relative sensitivity of the functional groups in the California Current 

ecosystem to OA and compare these estimates of relative sensitivity to a database of species 

mineralogy for Puget Sound species. An individually based model has been developed to 

estimate what carbon chemistry conditions zooplankton in Puget Sound, Washington are exposed 

to currently and will potentially be exposed to in the future. Results from this work are being 

used to design more ecologically relevant laboratory experiments. Simulations of OA have been 

run using Atlantis and EcoPath ecosystems models to explore how the direct and indirect effects 

of OA may influence food web structure, fisheries harvest, and endangered species. More work 

is needed to better address the ecosystem impacts of alternative fisheries and ecosystem 

management actions under OA (NOAA OA Plan Task 3.3.4, Figure 6).

Relevant publications:

Using mineralogy and higher-level taxonomy as indicators of species sensitivity to pH: A casestudy of Puget Sound. Busch, D.S., McElhany, P. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 5(53),

doi:10.1525/elementa.245, September 2017.

Exposure history determines pteropod vulnerability to ocean acidification along the US West

Coast. Bednaršek, N., Feely, R.A., Tolimieri, N., Hermann, A.J., Siedlecki, S.A., Waldbusser, G.

G., McElhany, P., Alin, S.R., Klinger, T., Moore-Maley, B., Pörtner, H.O. Scientific Reports

7:4526, doi:10.1038/s41598-017-03934-z, July 2017.

New ocean, new needs: Application of pteropod shell dissolution as a biological indicator for

marine resource management. Bednaršek, N., Klinger, T., Harvey, C. J., Weisberg, S., McCabe,

R.M., Feely, R.A., Newton, J., Tolimieri, N. Ecological Indicators,

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.01.025, May 2017.

Extending vulnerability assessment to include life stages considerations. Hodgson, E.E., 

Essington, T.E., Kaplan, I.C. PLoS ONE 11:e0158917, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0158917, July 

2016.

Risks of ocean acidification in the California Current food web and fisheries: Ecosystem model

projections. Marshall, K.N., Kaplan, I.C., Hodgson, E.E., Hermann, A., Busch, D.S., McElhany,

P., Essington, T.E., Harvey, C.J., Fulton, E.A. Global Change Biology, doi:10.1111/gcb.13594, 

January 2017.
23

Development of Euphausia pacifica (krill) larvae is impaired under pCO2 levels that are

currently observed in the Northeast Pacific. McLaskey, A., Keister, J.E., McElhany, P., Olson, 

M.B., Busch, S., Maher, M., Winans, A.K. Marine Ecology Progress Series 555: 65-78, 

doi:10.3354/meps11839, August 2016.

The influence of Pacific Equatorial Water on fish diversity in the southern California Current

System. McClatchie, S., Thompson, A.R., Alin, S.R., Siedlecki, S., Watson, W., Bograd, S.J. 

Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, doi:10.1002/2016JC011672, August 2016.

Estimates of the direct effect of seawater pH on the survival rate of species groups in the

California Current Ecosystem. Busch, D.S., McElhany, P. PLoS ONE 11(8): e0160669, 

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0160669, August 2016.

Pteropods on the edge: Cumulative effects of ocean acidification, warming, and deoxygenation. 

Bednaršek, N., Harvey, C.J., Kaplan, I.C., Feely, R.A., Možina, J. Progress in Oceanography 

145:1–24, doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2016.04.002, June 2016.

Exposure to low pH reduces survival and delays development in early life stages of Dungeness

crab (Cancer magister). Miller, J.J., Maher, M., Bohaboy, E., Friedman, C.S., McElhany, P. 

Marine Biology 163(5), doi:10.1007/s00227-016-2883-1, May 2016.

Shell condition and survival of Puget Sound pteropods are impaired by ocean acidification

conditions. Busch, D.S., Maher, M., Thibodeau, P., McElhany, P. PLoS ONE 9(8): e105884,

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0105884, September 2014.

Limacina helicina shell dissolution as an indicator of declining habitat suitability owing to ocean

acidification in the California Current Ecosystem. Bednarsek, N., Feely, R.A., Reum, J.C.P., 

Peterson, B., Menkel, J., Alin, S.R., Hales, B. Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological 

Sciences 281: 20140123, doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.0123, April 2014.

Estimating effects of tidal power projects and climate change on threatened and endangered

marine species and their food web. Busch, S., Greene, C. M., Good, T.P. Conservation Biology 

27:1190-1200, doi:0.1111/cobi.12164, December 2013.

Potential impacts of ocean acidification on the Puget Sound food web. Busch, D.S., Harvey, C.J., 

and McElhany, P. ICES Journal of Marine Science 70(4):823–833, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fst061, 

June 2013.

Potential impacts of climate change on Northeast Pacific marine food webs and fisheries.

Ainsworth, C.H., Samhouri, J.F., Busch, D.S., Cheung, W.W.L., Dunne, J., and Okey, T.A. ICES

Journal of Marine Science 68:1217-1229, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsr0432011, April 2011. 
24

Human Dimensions 

All three of the human dimensions and engagement tasks in the NOAA OA Plan are addressed 

by West Coast projects (Figure 6). Seawater carbonate chemistry conditions are monitored at 

shellfish hatcheries, and these data are posted online in near-real-time. In addition, the JSCOPE 

forecasting model now includes advanced warning of potential corrosive conditions driven by 

off-shore upwelling events. These information products are helping hatcheries strategically 

deploy adaptive management strategies (i.e., water amendments) in response to changing ocean 

conditions, yielding significant benefit to the industry. Regional data synthesis and modeling 

efforts are generating policy relevant information by parsing out the relative contributions of 

natural climate variability, anthropogenic climate change, rising pCO2, and anthropogenic 

nutrient loading on secular trends in hypoxia and OA within the California Current. This 

information is and will be communicated to coastal zone managers to help them explore potential 

implications for marine resource management and pollution control measures. Modeling 

exercises projecting future ecosystem states under OA estimate potential impacts on fisheries 

harvest and fishing-dependent communities. These projections are the first step towards 

developing appropriate fisheries and ecosystem management strategies under OA conditions. A 

variety of education and outreach efforts in the region (e.g., lectures, West Coast Ocean 

Acidification and Hypoxia Panel, Washington Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification, 

displays at aquaria) have brought information to stakeholders, the public, and students to inform 

them about OA and its potential impacts. The Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary is 

working with a diversity of partners to designate the Olympic Coast as a sentinel site for OA, 

which will capitalize on Sanctuary networks and resources to advance both OA science and 

outreach activities. This effort may help to address goal 3.1.5 (Figure 6). 

The California Current Acidification Network was founded in 2010 with the mission to: 1) 

coordinate and encourage development of an OA monitoring network for the west coast that 

serves publicly available data; 2) improve understanding of linkages between oceanographic 

conditions and biological responses; 3) facilitate and encourage the development of causal, 

predictive, and economic models that characterize these linkages and forecast effects; and 4) 

facilitate communication and resource/data sharing among the many groups, organizations, and 

entities that participate in the network or utilize it as an informational resource. 

Research gaps identified by the stakeholder panel 

Stakeholders on the west coast are interested in place-based information and efforts that attribute 

biological impacts to changes in carbon chemistry. Place-based information is needed by placebased communities, such as tribes and National Marine Sanctuaries, and by marine resource 

managers to understand the consequences of OA for their communities and/or management 

activities. Attribution efforts are important for understanding local and regional drivers of OA 

(e.g., atmospheric deposition vs. nutrient pollution) and consequences for ecosystems and human 

communities. Major stakeholders in the region are water quality managers, including the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency. At a 2016 workshop, a group of experts from academic, nongovernmental, philanthropic, and California, Oregon and Washington state and federal 

management communities identified the following research needs for OA: 1) expand the linkage 

between chemical exposure and biological responses; 2) define natural variability in carbon 

chemistry conditions; 3) standardize and simplify operational procedures for measuring OA 

parameters and indicators; and 4) support co-located chemical and biological field 
25

measurements. Scientists are an active stakeholder group on the West Coast and need support to 

collect OA-related data and synthesize the information for other regional stakeholders. More 

work needs to be done to identify all stakeholders in the region, as some potential stakeholders 

(i.e., local resource managers) do not have access to the OA information they need. 

CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEMS

The goal of NOAA coral reef OA efforts is to establish a time-series of key ecological indicators 

believed to be most vulnerable to OA. This work is done as part of the NOAA Coral Reef 

Conservation Program’s National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP), a long-term, 

interdisciplinary monitoring effort. NCRMP tracks indicators in U.S. and U.S.-affiliated coral 

reef ecosystems in both the Pacific and Atlantic/Caribbean under four themes: benthic habitat, 

reef fish, climate, and socio-economics. This work addresses tasks detailed across two chapters 

of the NOAA OA Plan: chapter 4 discusses tasks for the Pacific Islands and chapter 5 discusses 

tasks for the Atlantic/Caribbean (Figure 8). Here we discuss the progress related to coral-reef 

ecosystems across both regions. 

TASKS OUTLINED IN NOAA OA PLAN FOR PACIFIC ISLANDS 

Developing an Ocean 

Acidification Monitoring

Network 

• Task 4.1.1: Implement a comprehensive program for monitoring carbon-cyclerelated oceanographic parameters in the Pacific Islands.

• Task 4.1.2: Implement a comprehensive program for monitoring coral reef

systems likely to be impacted by ocean acidification in the Pacific Islands.

• Task 4.1.3: Monitor cryptic species and biodiversity for the effects of ocean

acidification in the Pacific Islands.

• Task 4.1.4: Monitor microbial communities for effects of ocean acidification in

the Pacific Islands.

Organism response to 

Ocean Acidification 

• Task 4.2.1: Conduct laboratory experiment to estimate the effect of ocean

acidification on important species in the Pacific Islands.

• Task 4.2.2: Conduct in situ experiments manipulating CO2 to estimate the effect

of ocean acidification in the natural environment.

• Task 4.2.3: Estimate historical changes to corals as a response to fluctuating CO2.

• Task 4.2.4: Conduct experiments on how beach forming processes will be

affected by ocean acidification.

• Task 4.2.5: Behavior response experiments of cetaceans to increased ocean sound

propagation with ocean acidification.

Biogeochemical and 

Ecosystem Models 

• Task 4.3.1: Develop finescale, wave-driven hydrodynamic circulation models for

coral reef habitats throughout the Pacific Islands region.

• Task 4.3.2: Develop biogeochemical models to predict Pacific Islands ecosystem

responses to ocean acidification.

• Task 4.3.3: Refine existing trophic interaction ecosystem model (Ecopath with

Ecosim) to predict ecosystem impacts of ocean acidification in the Pacific

Islands.

• Task 4.3.4: Develop coupled sand transport and biogeochemistry models to

predict the impacts of ocean acidification on critical nesting beach habitats.

• Task 4.3.5: Develop sound propagation models to predict the impacts of ocean

acidification on protected cetacean species across the Pacific Islands region.

Human Dimensions • Task 4.4: Estimate the impact of ocean acidification on socioeconomic activities.

Synthesis of Data and 

Information Products 

• Task 4.5: Develop data and information tools for evaluating the consequences of

ocean acidification in the PIR to create more effective management strategies.

Engagement Strategy • Task 4.6: Implement an education and outreach program in the PIR to increase

public understanding of ocean acidification.
26

Figure 8. Summary of tasks outlined in NOAA OA Plan for Pacific Coral Reef Ecosystems and 

coral-reef-related tasked in the Southeast and Gulf of Mexico regions. 

Environment 

NCRMP monitoring documents the carbonate chemistry of coral reef systems at multiple scales 

in space and time using a nested hierarchical design with four classes (Figure 9). Class 0 sites 

quantify spatial variability in carbonate chemistry, temperature, and salinity at the jurisdiction or 

island scale. At these sites, synoptic sampling is distributed in a stratified, random fashion 

according to water depth, extending out to 30 m. Synoptic sampling campaigns are executed 

each year in a “round-robin” fashion whereby each jurisdiction/island is reoccupied once every 

three years in the Pacific and once every two years in the Atlantic. Class I sites have fixed 

temperature sensors only. Class II sites collect the same data as Class 0 and I sites, and include 1) 

a sensor package to record diurnal variability in carbonate chemistry and temperature and 2) 

deployed equipment to monitor calcification, bioerosion, and cryptic diversity. Photomosaics are 

also taken at the Pacific reef Class II sites. Class III sites collect the same data as Class II sites 

and monitor carbonate dynamics using a buoy operated by PMEL. 

In Atlantic coral reef systems, Class III stations are located in La Paguera, Puerto Rico and 

Florida’s Cheeca Rocks within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. NCRMP activities 

in the Atlantic region began in 2013, so the chemical and biological observing data are currently 

being analyzed. Early results from this work are that there is net erosion on an annual basis in 

southeast Florida that tropical storms may enhance acidification locally for several weeks 

following a storm event, and that seagrass meadows within the Keys may confer some CO2

scavenging benefits to back-reef environments. In the Pacific, at least one MAPCO2 system has 

been located in Oahu since 2005, and two more are planned (one will be located in American 

Samoa). Regional research efforts in the Pacific are working to detect trends from the variability 

present in the datasets, due to events such as El Niño/La Niña, and to explore patterns in how 

offshore climatology compares to onshore conditions. Recent work indicates that variability in 

calcium carbonate accretion in the Pacific reefs at the Class II sites can be explained by 

chlorophyll a concentrations, wave energy, and aragonite saturation state. Autonomous reef 

monitoring structures from some Pacific coral reefs are being analyzed using genomic techniques 

and visual analyses of mobile invertebrates. Coral cores have been collected at many monitoring 

sites. All of the monitoring tasks in the NOAA OA Plan are underway. The Plan’s ocean 

circulation modeling (Task 4.3.1) has been partially addressed with funding from outside of 

NOAA and the coupled sand transport and biogeochemical modeling (Task 4.3.4) task have not 

yet been addressed as efforts have focused on characterizing the environment in coral reef 

ecosystems (Figure 8). 

TASKS OUTLINED IN NOAA OA PLAN FOR THE SOUTHEAST AND GULF OF MEXICO

Developing an Ocean 

Acidification Montioring 

Network

• Task 5.1.5: Establish the SER/GOM portion of a coral reef ocean acidification

monitoring program

Organism response to 

Ocean Acidification

• Task 5.2.1: Conduct species-specific OA exposure experiments.

• Task 5.2.3: Conduct coral sclerochronology for retrospective OA assessment

to detect the coral calcification historical response.
27

Figure 9. Class designation of various NCRMP sites. OAP investments benefit from significant 

leverage provided by the Coral Reef Conservation Program. 

Relevant publications: 

Coupling chemical and biological monitoring to understand the impact of ocean acidification on

coral reef ecosystems. Sutton, A., Manzello, D., Gintert, B. Oceanography 28(2):28–29,

doi:10.5670/oceanog.2015.28, June 2015. 

Calcification and organic production on a Hawaiian coral reef. Shamberger, K.E.F., Feely, R.A., 

Sabine, C.L., Atkinson, M.J., De Carlo, E.H., Mackenzie, F.T., Drupp, P.S., Butterfield, D.A. 

Marine Chemistry 127: 64–75, doi:10.1016/j.marchem.2011.08.003, December 2011. 

Sensitivity 

In collaboration with academic colleagues, scientists from the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries 

Science Center used a laboratory mesocosm and settlement plates incubated on coral reefs 

(autonomous reef monitoring structures) to better understand how OA may influence reef 

communities (Task 4.2.1). NOAA researchers at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological 

Laboratory were involved in laboratory experiments on the response of an octocoral species to 

OA using funding from sources other than the OAP (Task 5.2.1). Coral skeletons from reefs have 

been analyzed to understand how carbonate chemistry affects coral reef growth and erosion 

again using funding from sources other than the OAP (Task 5.2.3). The NOAA OA Plan tasks 

related to conducting in situ OA experiments (Task 4.2.2) and beach formation processes (Task 

4.2.4) are currently unmet by NOAA, but extensive in situ experiments have been conducted by 

investigators funded by the U.S. Geological Survey, National Science Foundation, and others. 

Since the publication of the NOAA OA Plan, new research found that OA will not have a large 

influence on ocean sound propagation. As such, both tasks in the NOAA OA Plan related to 

sound propagation have not been addressed, nor are they likely to be addressed in the near-term 

given that the research community has determined that changes in sound will not be appreciable 

(Task 4.2.5, 4.3.5). Two ecosystem modeling tasks in the NOAA OA Plan (Tasks 4.3.2, 4.3.3) 

have been partially addressed by Atlantis ecosystem modeling work led by the Pacific Islands 

Fisheries Science Center that was not funded by the OAP (Figure 8). 
28

Relevant publications: 

Elevated colonization of microborers at a volcanically acidified coral reef. Enochs, I.C., 

Manzello, D.P., Tribollet, A., Valentino, L., Kolodziej, G., Donham, E.M., Fitchett, M.D., 

Carlton, R., Price, N.N. PLoS ONE, 11(7): e0159818, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0159818, July 

2016.

Micro-CT analysis of the Caribbean octocoral Eunicea flexuosa subjected to elevated pCO2. 

Enochs, I.C., Manzello, D.P., Wirshing, H.H., Carloton, R., Serafy, J. ICES Journal of Marine 

Science 73(3): 910-919, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsv159, March 2016.

Opposite latitudinal gradients in projected ocean acidification and bleaching impacts on coral 

reefs. van Hooidonk, R., Maynard, J.A., Manzello, D., Planes, S. Global Change Biology, doi: 

10.1111/gcb.12394, October 2013. 

Ocean acidification alters the otoliths of a pantropical fish species with implications for sensory 

function. Bignami, S., Enochs, I.C., Manzello, D.P., Spaunagle, S., Cowen, R.K. Proceedings of 

the National Academy of Sciences, doi:10.1073/pnas.1301365110, April 2013.

Human dimensions

The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program is developing “report cards” for all coral reefs in 

U.S. jurisdictions to track indicators and provide “scores” that indicate condition. The Coral Reef 

Ecosystem Program of the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center is using these indicators as a 

tool to communicate with the public, natural resource managers, and Congress. Although these 

report cards aren’t specific to OA, they do assess the socioeconomic impacts of changes to coral 

reefs generally and can inform effective management. These efforts partially fill the human 

exposure tasks in the NOAA OA Plan (Tasks 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, Figure 8). 

Relevant publications: 

Incorporating climate and ocean change into extinction risk assessments for 82 coral species.

Brainard, R.E., Weijerman, M., Eakin, C.M., McElhaney, P., Miller, M.W., Patterson, M., 

Piniak, G.A., Dunlap, M.J., Birkeland, C. Conservation Biology 27:1169-1178, doi: 

10.1111/cobi.12171, December 2013. 

Research gaps identified by the stakeholder panel

Stakeholders in coral reef regions are interested in regularly timed, locally tailored, science 

translation products that provide actionable information on potential local changes in ecosystem 

services within the next ten years. A number of science efforts are needed to build these 

products: monitoring and data synthesis activities at relevant spatial and temporal scales, better 

knowledge of the sensitivity and adaptive capacity of key coral reef species and of the ecological 

and physical processes that influence reef systems (e.g., blue carbon sequestration and water 

movement near reefs), and vulnerability assessments to define OA-sensitive ecosystem services 

and how they may respond to multiple stressors. 
29

SOUTHEAST AND GULF OF MEXICO

Although carbonate chemistry observations have been ongoing in the Southeast and Gulf of 

Mexico for over a decade, research to understand the sensitivity of marine life to OA and the 

potential human dimension impacts of OA has only recently begun. Activities related to the 

coral-reef tasks are discussed in the previous section. 

Figure 10. Summary of tasks outlined in NOAA OA Plan for the Southeast and Gulf of Mexico.

Environment 

Carbonate chemistry monitoring in the region has historically focused on estimating air-sea 

carbon flux and carbon cycling associated with the hypoxia region of the northern Gulf of 

Mexico. Since the inception of the OA Program, many of the region’s surveys and underway 

sampling programs have been altered to specifically quantify OA. Both sub-regions host a 

coastal OA mooring (coastal Mississippi and Georgia’s Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary) 

and also engage in further monitoring using volunteer observing ships, for example the quarterly 

sampling in the Flower Garden National Marine Sanctuary (from winter 2013 onward). Synoptic 

cruises that covered both the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast occurred in 2007 and 2012. As 

TASKS OUTLINED IN NOAA OA PLAN FOR THE SOUTHEAST AND GULF OF MEXICO 

Developing an Ocean 

Acidification Monitoring

Network 

• Task 5.1.1: Establish requisite analytical capability for conducting high-quality

carbonate chemistry measurements and training at AOML.

• Task 5.1.2: Establish SER/GOM ocean acidification coastal/oceanic mooring

network.

• Task 5.1.3: Conduct SER/GOM ocean acidification hydrographic/geochemical ship

surveys.

• Task 5.1.4: Regional carbonate chemistry synoptic mapping.

• Task 5.1.6: Establish a seagrass OA monitoring program.

• Task 5.1.7: Establish an estuarine OA monitoring program.

Organism response to Ocean 

Acidification 

• Task 5.2.1: Conduct species-specific OA exposure experiments.

• Task 5.2.2: Conduct lab and/or field experiments to determine OA impacts on key

species interactions (e.g., competition, predation, facilitation).

Biogeochemical and 

Ecosystem Models 

• Task 5.3.1: Develop regional biogeochemical forecast models coupled to global

carbon cycle models to predict local changes in carbon chemistry at multiple temporal

scales.

• Task 5.3.2: Develop regional biogeochemical hindcast models to evaluate historical

changes in carbonate chemistry within the SER/GOM.

• Task 5.3.3: Develop regional ecoforecast models.

Human Dimensions

• Task 5.4.1: Forecast impacts to ecosystem services within the SER/GOM.

• Task 5.4.2: Conduct necessary social impact and vulnerability assessments to

ascertain probable social impacts of OA and identify possible mitigation strategies

within the SER/GOM.

• Task 5.4.3: Develop mitigation and community adaptation strategies.

Synthesis of Data and 

Information Products • NONE OUTLINED

Engagement Strategy

• Task 5.6.1: Create and distribute media that clearly and concisely describe the

chemistry of OA as well as the known and hypothesized impacts.

• Task 5.6.2: Create an interactive website focused on OA in the SER/GOM.

• Task 5.6.3: Develop regular summary literature that provides a State of the Science of

OA and Known Impacts in the SER/GOM.

• Task 5.6.4: Install interactive displays at aquaria in the southeastern United States.

• Task 5.6.5: Create education modules and curricula that can be used by teachers to

help describe OA and its impacts to students.
30

of 2015, separate cruises are used to monitor the Southeast and Gulf of Mexico sub-regions; the 

Southeast was included in the 2015 East Coast OA cruise (cruise extended from the Scotian 

Shelf to Miami, Florida) and the Gulf of Mexico had its own cruise in 2017. These observations 

have found that the Gulf of Mexico is a small sink for CO2 and that aragonite saturation state in 

the region changed ten times more rapidly than expected from absorption of atmospheric CO2

alone, likely due to natural variability in regional water masses. Freshwater and nutrient run-off 

drive coastal acidification events in the region’s estuaries and near-shore waters, particularly 

along the southeast coast. An effort is currently underway to identify the primary driver(s) of 

coastal acidification events in Texas estuaries in northwestern Gulf of Mexico. A number of 

regional modeling efforts have been used to describe patterns in past, current, and future OA 

conditions. Quasi-operational synoptic maps of the carbonate chemistry conditions of Gulf of 

Mexico and Caribbean surface waters are now regularly released by AOML using the Ocean 

Acidification Product Suite (Figure 3). The NOAA OA Plan calls for more extensive monitoring 

with moorings than is currently occurring including targeted monitoring programs for regional 

seagrass and estuarine environments (Tasks 5.1.6, 5.1.7, Figure 10). Regional ecoforecast models

have not yet been developed (Task 5.3.3, Figure 10).

Relevant publications included: 

Effects of eutrophication and benthic respiration on water column carbonate chemistry in a 

traditional hypoxic zone in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Hu, X., Li, Q., Huang, W.-J., Chen, B., 

Cai, W.-J., Rabalais, N.N., and Turner, R.E. Marine Chemistry 190(33-42), 

doi:10.1016/j.marchem.2017.04.004, April 2017. 

Time series pCO2 at a coastal mooring: Internal consistency, seasonal cycles, and interannual 

variability. Reimer, J.J., Cai, W.-J., Xue, L., Vargas, R., Noakes, S., Hu, X., Signorini, S.R., 

Mathis, J.T., Feely, R.A., Sutton, A.J., Sabine, C.L., Musielewicz, S., Chen, B., Wanninkhof, R. 

Continental Shelf Research 145(95–108), doi:10.1016/j.csr.2017.06.022, August 2017. 

Sea surface aragonite saturation state variations and control mechanisms at the Gray's Reef timeseries site off Georgia, USA (2006–2007). Xue, L., Cai, W.-J., Sutton, A.J., Sabine, C.L. Marine 

Chemistry 195(27–40), doi:10.1016/j.marchem.2017.05.009, June 2017. 

Sea surface carbon dioxide at the Georgia time series site (2006-2007): Air-sea flux and

controlling processes. Xue, L., Cai, W.J., Hu, X., Sabine, C., Jones, S., Sutton, A.J., Jiang, L.-Q., 

Reimer, J.J. Progress in Oceanography 140(14-26), doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2015.09.008, January 

2016.

Long-term alkalinity decrease and acidification of estuaries in Northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Hu,

X., Beseres Pollack, J., McCutcheon, M.R., Montagna, P.A., Ouyang, Z. Environmental Science 

& Technology 49:3401-3409, doi: 10.1021/es505945p, February 2015. 

Tropical cyclones cause CaCO3 undersaturation of coral reef seawater in a high-CO2 world. 

Manzello, D., Enochs, I., Musielewicz, S., Carlton, R., Gledhill, D. Journal of Geophysical 

Research Oceans 118, doi:10.1002/jgrc.20378, October 2013. 
31

Eutrophication induced CO2-acidification of subsurface coastal waters: interactive effects of 

temperature, salinity, and atmospheric PCO2. Sunda, W.G., Cai, W.-J. Environmental Science & 

Technology 46(19):10651–10659, doi:10.1021/es300626f, August 2012. 

Acidification of subsurface coastal waters enhanced by eutrophication. Cai, W.-J., Hu, X., 

Huang, W., Murrell, M.C., Lehrter, J.C., Lohrenz, S.E., Chou, W.-C., Zhai, W., Hollibaugh, J.

T., Wang, Y., Zhao, P., Guo, X., Gundersen, K., Dai, M., Gong, G.-C. Nature Geoscience 4:766-

770, doi:10.1038/ngeo1297, April 2011. 

Sensitivity 

OAP has not been the primary funder of species sensitivity experiments, observations, or 

modeling in the region. NOAA researchers at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological 

Laboratory were involved in laboratory experiments on the response of cobia to OA using 

funding from sources other than the OAP (Task 5.2.1). Activities related to coral reef ecosystems 

in this region are conducted in partnership with NCRMP (see ‘Corals’ section above for more 

details). 

Human dimensions 

OAP investments inform the regularly produced NCRMP report cards tailored to coral reef 

jurisdictions (see ‘Corals’ section above for more details). The OAP has not supported 

projections of the social and economic impacts of OA, adaptation or mitigation work, or much 

education and outreach work in the region, leaving seven tasks in the NOAA OA Plan largely 

unmet by NOAA (Tasks 5.4.1-3 and 5.6.1-5; Figure 9). Researchers funded by other sources are 

addressing some of these tasks. The OAP’s initial focus on cold-water regions of the continental 

U.S., a legacy of how NMFS focused its initial OA work, led to this gap in the OAP portfolio.

The OAP is seeking to rectify this gap within its limited budget. To help develop OA work in

this region, the OAP fostered the launch of the Southeast Ocean and Coastal Acidification

Network in 2014 and the Gulf Coast Coastal Acidification Network in 2016. The Southeast

Ocean and Coastal Acidification Network aims to enhance collaborations on and

communications about ocean and coastal acidification regional drivers, approaches to

monitoring, state-of-the-art science, and vulnerable species and ecosystems. The Gulf Coast

Coastal Acidification Network aims to identify the needs of the stakeholder community of the

Gulf Coast region.

Research gaps identified in the stakeholder panel 

Stakeholder needs suggest research gaps relate to: species sensitivity to multiple stressors (i.e., 

simultaneous consideration of OA with temperature change, disease, and increased freshwater 

input); the connection between blue carbon and OA, especially in the region’s marshes and 

mangroves; the drivers and impacts of coastal acidification; and further development of the OA 

monitoring network. Recreational, subsistence, and commercial fishing are vital parts of the 

region’s culture and economy, but OA stakeholders are not as well cultivated or organized in the 

Southeast and Gulf of Mexico. The importance of presenting research findings in a way that is 

relevant to policy makers, industry, and managers is paramount. Doing so can help interested 

groups understand the state of OA impacts and how other stressors can be managed to lessen the 

impacts of OA on ecosystems and human communities. 
32

NORTHEAST AND MID-ATLANTIC

This section covers both the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic, as the regions were addressed 

together in the NOAA OA Plan. Over the past five years, OAP research has quickly developed in 

the Northeast. The recognition of processes that drive coastal acidification was a large factor in 

this strong development, as was the cultivation of engaged stakeholders in the region. 

Figure 11. Summary of tasks outlined in NOAA OA Plan for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. 

Environment 

The northeast has one OA mooring, located off New Hampshire in the Gulf of Maine, to 

characterize its complex chemistry. A new OA mooring is targeted for deployment in the 

Chesapeake Bay in 2017. In 2007 and 2012, synoptic cruises characterized the carbon chemistry 

of the US East Coast and Gulf of Mexico; in 2015, the first synoptic cruise dedicated to the U.S.

East Coast occurred. This 2015 cruise included measurement of oxygen consumption and net 

community production to better understand what drives regional and seasonal dynamics in 

aragonite saturation state. The carbon chemistry of the region’s coastal waters is highly 

influenced by biological activity. Regular fisheries stock assessment cruises from Nova Scotia, 

Canada to Cape Hatteras, which are run by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC),

occur four to six times a year and collect samples for carbon chemistry. These cruises provide 

spatially and temporally explicit datasets paired with biological measurements. Ships of 

opportunity also monitor carbon chemistry in the region. pCO2 sensors are being used in the 

region to monitor carbon chemistry conditions in shellfish hatcheries from Maine to the 

Chesapeake Bay. Autonomous alkalinity sensors are being field tested on ships of opportunity to 

obtain the elusive "second" parameter to constrain OA dynamics. This suite of monitoring 

TASKS OUTLINED IN NOAA OA PLAN FOR THE NORTHEAST AND MID-ATLANTIC 

Developing an Ocean 

Acidification Monitoring

Network 

• Task 6.1: Develop and conduct a monitoring program to assess the current state of ocean

acidification and track its development in the northeast U.S. shelf ecosystem.

Organism response to Ocean 

Acidification 

• Task 6.2.1: Conduct laboratory and targeted field studies to quantify the impact of ocean

acidification on primary producers.

• Task 6.2.2: Create a state-of-the-art capability in the Northeast for conducting

acidification experiments on individual species and species assemblages of shellfish and

finfish and estimate the impact of ocean acidification on Northeast ecosystem resource

species.

Biogeochemical and 

Ecosystem Models 

• Task 6.3: Develop and implement models to assess the effects of ocean acidification on

singlespecies dynamics, multi-species interactions, and overall ecosystem productivity.

Human Dimensions • Task 6.4: Estimate anticipated changes to northeast ecosystem services as a consequence

of OA and develop a decision framework for adaptation strategies.

Synthesis of Data and 

Information Products 

• Task 6.5.1: Provide a first integrated assessment of the effects of OA on the northeast

U.S. continental shelf ecosystem.

Engagement Strategy • Task 6.6: Identify target audiences and determine appropriate programs and products

utilizing innovative approaches for community involvement.
33

activities addresses the monitoring task in the NOAA OA Plan (Task 6.1, Figure 11). Recently, 

modeling exercises in the Gulf of Maine and elsewhere in the region have emphasized the 

importance of freshwater input and regional circulation in controlling aragonite saturation state. 

A biogeochemical and hydrographic model is being developed to study OA and eutrophication in 

the Chesapeake Bay and how they may affect restoration of the Bay’s oyster reefs. 

Relevant publications included: 

Redox reactions and weak buffering capacity lead to acidification in the Chesapeake Bay. Cai, 

W.J., Huang, W.J., Luther III, G.W., Pierrot, D., Li, M., Test, J., MingXue, A.J., Mann, R., 

Brodeur, J., Xu, Y.Y., Chen, B., Hussain, N., Waldbusser, G.G., Cornwell, J., Kemp, W.M. 

Nature Communications 8(369), doi:10.1038/s41467-017-00417-7, August 2017. 

Hypoxia and acidification in ocean ecosystems: Coupled dynamics and effects on ocean life. 

Gobler, C., Baumann, H. Biology Letters 12(5), doi:10.1098/rsbl.2015.0976, May 2016.

Ocean and coastal acidification off New England and Nova Scotia. Gledhill, D.K., White, M.M., 

Salisbury, J., Thomas, H., Mlsna, I., Liebman, M., Mook, B., Grear, J., Candelmo, A.C., 

Chambers, R.C., Gobler, C.J., Hunt, C.W., King, A.L., Price, N.N., Signorini, S.R., Stancioff, E., 

Stymiest, C., Wahle, R.A., Waller, J.D., Rebuck, N.D., Wang, Z.A., Capson, T.L., Morrison, 

J.R., Cooley, S.R., Doney, S.C. Oceanography 28(2):182–197, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2015.41,

June 2015.

Ocean acidification along the Gulf Coast and East Coast of the USA. Wanninkhof, R., Barbero, 

L., Byrne, R., Cai, W.-J., Huang, W.-J., Zhang, J.-Z., Baringer, M., Langdon, C. Continental 

Shelf Research 98: 54-71, doi:10.1016/j.csr.2015.02.008, April 2015. 

Experience with moored observations in the western Gulf of Maine from 2006 to 2012. Irish, 

J.D., Vandemark, D., Shellito, S. and Salisbury, J. Marine Technology Society Journal 47:19-32,

doi:10.4031/MTSJ.47.1.7, February 2013.

Contribution of non-carbonate anions to total alkalinity and overestimation of pCO2 in New 

England and New Brunswick rivers. Hunt, C.W., Salisbury, J.E., Vandemark, D. Biogeosciences 

8: 3069-3076, doi:10.5194/bg-8-3069-2011, October 2011. 

Temporal and spatial dynamics of CO2 air-sea flux in the Gulf of Maine. Vandemark, D., 

Salisbury, J., Hunt, C., McGillis, W., Sabine, C., Maenner, S.M. Journal of Geophysical 

Research 116:C01, doi:10.1029/2010JC006408, January 2011. 

Sensitivity 

An experimental system was built at the NEFSC’s Milford Laboratory in Connecticut to 

understand the sensitivity of a variety of species to changes in ocean carbon chemistry. Milford 

scientists found the following responses to elevated CO2 conditions: little change in the growth 

rate of several phytoplankton species (Thalassiosira pseudonana, T. rotula, two strains of T. 

weissflogii, T. oceanica, Chlorella autotrophica, Dunaliella salina); no effect on growth, otolith 

condition, survival, or the skeleton of juvenile Scup (Mid-Atlantic fish); and a decrease in 

filtration and particle clearance in eastern oysters. Scientists at the NEFSC Howard Laboratory in 
34

Sandy Hook, New Jersey have found that high CO2 treatments cause detrimental changes in 

survival, growth, and development of early life stages of summer flounder and decreased larval 

survival and prey consumption in winter flounder. Other OAP-funded work in the region has 

found that: surf clam larvae are smaller and grow slowly in high CO2 treatments, sea scallops 

have thinner shells and more deformities when high CO2 treatments are combined with low food 

availability, and diurnal fluctuations in carbon chemistry conditions do not provide relief from 

OA impacts to bay scallops, hard clams, or eastern oysters. Research, co-funded by Sea Grant, is 

currently underway on ecologically and economically important species including lobster, 

sandlance, blue mussel, hard clam, and eastern oyster. 

A variety of modeling projects are increasing the understanding of the impacts of OA on 

northeast ecosystems. OA simulations were run in an Atlantis model of the northeast ecosystem 

food web to project potential impacts on the food web and fisheries. An integrated assessment 

model was developed to explore the influence of OA on scallop fisheries, and an individually 

based model is being built and parameterized to explore the influence of OA on winter flounder. 

The latter two projects include web-based dashboards for the public to access their findings. 

Together these biology-focused experiments and modeling projects meet all of the tasks outlined 

in the NOAA OA Plan, except for the integrated ecosystem assessment of the effects of OA on 

the northeast U.S. continental shelf ecosystem (Task 6.5.1, Figure 11).

Relevant publications: 

Assessing the effects of ocean acidification in the Northeast US using an end-to-end marine 

ecosystem model. Fay, G., Link, J.S., Hare, J. A. Ecological Modelling 347:1–10, 

doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2016.12.016, March 2017. 

Do diurnal fluctuations in CO2 and dissolved oxygen concentrations provide a refuge from

hypoxia and acidification for early life stage bivalves? Clark, H., Gobler, C. Marine Ecology 

Progress Series 558:1–14, doi:10.3354/meps11852, October 2016.

Ocean acidification accelerates the growth of two bloom-forming macroalgae. Young, C.S., 

Gobler, C.J. PLoS One 11(5):e0155152, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0155152, May 2016. 

A vulnerability assessment of fish and invertebrates to climate change on the Northeast U.S. 

continental shelf. Hare, J.A., Morrison, W.E., Nelson, M.W., Stachura, M.M., Teeters, J., Griffis, 

R.B., Alexander, M.A., Scott, J.D., Alade, L., Bell, R.J., Chute, A.S., Curti, K.L., Curtis, T.H.,

Kircheis, D., Kocik, J.F., Lucey, S.M., McCandless, C.T., Milke, L.M., Richardson, D.E.,

Robillard, E., Walsh, H.J., McManus, M.C., Marancik, K.E., Griswold, C.A. PLoS ONE

11(2):e0146756, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0146756, February 2016.

Effects of CO2 on growth rate, C:N:P, and fatty acid composition of seven marine phytoplankton 

species. King, A., Jenkins, B., Wallace, J., Liu, Y., Wikfors, G.H., Milke, L., Meseck, S. Marine 

Ecology Progress Series 537:59-69, doi:10.3354/meps11458, October 2015. 

Effect of ocean acidification on growth and otolith condition of juvenile scup, Stenotomus 

chrysops. Perry, D.M., Redman, D.H., Widman Jr., J.C., Meseck, S., King, A., Pereira, J.J. 

Ecology and Evolution 5(18):4187-4196, doi:10.1002/ece3.1678, September 2015. 
35

Ocean and coastal acidification off New England and Nova Scotia. Gledhill, D.K., White, M.M., 

Salisbury, J., Thomas, H., Mlsna, I., Liebman, M., Mook, B., Grear, J., Candelmo, A.C., 

Chambers, R.C., Gobler, C.J., Hunt, C.W., King, A.L., Price, N.N., Signorini, S.R., Stancioff, E., 

Stymiest, C., Wahle, R.A., Waller, J.D., Rebuck, N.D., Wang, Z.A., Capson, T.L., Morrison, 

J.R., Cooley, S.R. Doney, S.C. Oceanography 28(2):182–197, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2015.41,

June 2015.

Effects of elevated CO2 in the early life stages of summer flounder, Paralichthys dentatus, and

potential consequences of ocean acidification. Chambers, C., Candelmo, A.C., Habeck, E.A., 

Poach, M.E., Wieczorek, D., Cooper, K.R., Greenfield, C.E., Phelan, B.A. Biogeosciences 

11:1613-1626, doi:10.5194/bg-11-1613-2014, March 2014. 

Hypoxia and acidification have additive and synergistic negative effects on the growth, survival 

and metamorphosis of early life stage bivalves. Gobler, C.J., De Pasquale, E.L., Griffith, A.W., 

Baumann, H. Plos ONE 9(1): e83648, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083648, January 2014. 

Short- and long-term consequences of larval stage exposure to constantly and ephemerally 

elevated carbon dioxide for marine bivalve populations. Gobler, C.J., Talmage, S.C. 

Biogeosciences 10:2241-2253, doi:10.5194/bg-10-2241-2013, April 2013. 

Human dimensions 

The OAP has not funded socioeconomic work besides the modeling projects and hatchery 

monitoring work described above. The Northeast Coastal Acidification Network (NECAN), 

launched in 2013, is active in coordinating and guiding regional observing, research, and 

modeling endeavors focused on ocean and coastal acidification, and in soliciting stakeholder 

input on OA activities. The Mid-Atlantic Coastal Acidification Network (MACAN), launched in 

fall 2016, works to develop a better understanding of the causes of estuarine, coastal, and ocean 

acidification and to predict the impacts on marine resources. MACAN is also devising ways that 

local communities and industries can prevent and/or decrease the negative impacts caused by 

OA. There were no tasks focused on human dimension in the NOAA OA Plan (Figure 11).

Research gaps identified in the stakeholder panel

Stakeholders in the northeast are interested in how other water quality issues and stressors will 

interact with OA and affect marine species and ecosystems. Science efforts needed to address 

this information gap include: more chemistry monitoring in nearshore and estuarine systems; 

compact, reliable instruments that will provide high-quality chemical-observing data to citizen 

scientists and other stakeholders; short time-scale (e.g., day, season, and decade) models of 

carbon chemistry conditions; species response studies that address more life stages and multiple 

stressors and capture the processes of acclimation and adaptation; and economic modeling to 

project the monetary losses from OA-impacts on economically important species. Regional 

scientists are looking to better partner with other Federal and state agencies in the U.S. and 

Canada and with the shellfish industry and to engage in more robust two-way exchanges with 

stakeholders. 
36

Relevant publications: 

An integrated assessment model for helping the United States sea scallop (Placopecten 

magellanicus) fishery plan ahead for ocean acidification and warming. Cooley, S.R., Rheuban, 

J.E., Hart, D.R., Luu, V., Glover, D.M., Hare, J.A., Doney, S.C. PLoS ONE

10:e0124145, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0124145, May 2015.

INTERNATIONAL

The OAP engages in a number of international efforts that advance OA research and monitoring 

and foster collaboration among nations. These efforts benefit U.S. activities on OA and help the 

U.S. maintain a leadership role in ocean research. As the only truly long-term ocean acidification 

program, NOAA OAP is regarded as an important partner and leader for much OA monitoring 

and research around the world. 

Environment 

NOAA, U.S. scientists, and the NOA-ON have played a key leadership role in the formation of 

GOA-ON. This global network uses a collaborative approach to document the chemical changes 

and biological impacts of ocean acidification in open-ocean, coastal, and estuarine environments 

and to provide the spatially and temporally resolved biogeochemical data necessary to optimize 

modeling for OA. The network recently released an interactive map which displays real-time 

data from participating platforms, provides an overlay of aragonite saturation state and surface 

CO2 concentrations globally, and allows users to find platforms based on region, type, and 

variables. This map greatly increases the accessibility of OA data globally.

Relevant publications: 

Mixed-layer carbon cycling at the Kuroshio Extension Observatory. Fassbender, A.J., Sabine, 

C.L., Cronin, M.F., Sutton, A.J. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 31:272-288,

doi:10.1002/2016gb005547, February 2017.

Net community production and calcification from 7 years of NOAA Station Papa Mooring 

measurements. Fassbender, A.J., Sabine, C.L., Cronin, M.F. Global Biogeochemical Cycles

30:250–267, doi:10.1002/2015GB005205, February 2016 

Climatological distribution of aragonite saturation state in the global oceans. Jiang, L.Q., Feely, 

R.A., Carter, B.R., Greeley, D.J., Gledhill, D.K., Arzayus, K.M. Global Biogeochemical Cycles

29, doi:10.1002/2015GB005198. October 2015.

Ocean acidification in the surface waters of the Pacific-Arctic boundary regions. Mathis, J.T., 

Cross, J.N., Evans, W., Doney, S.C. Oceanography 28(2):122–135, 

doi:10.5670/oceanog.2015.36, June 2015. 

Seasonal variations in the aragonite saturation state in the upper open-ocean waters of the North 

Pacific Ocean. Kim, T., Park, G, Kim, D., Lee, K., Feely, R.A., Millero, F.J. Geophysical 

Research Letters 42(11):4498-4506, doi:10.1002/2015GL063602, June 2015. 
37

Including high frequency variability in coastal ocean acidification projections. Takeshita, Y., 

Frieder, C.A., Martz, T.R., Ballard, J.R., Feely, R.A., Kram, S., Nam, S., Navarro, M.O., Price, 

N.N., Smith, J.E. Biogeosciences Discussions 12:7125-7176, doi:10.5194/bgd-12-7125-2015,

May 2015.

Spectrophotometric measurement of calcium carbonate saturation states in seawater. 

Easley, R.A., Patsavas, M.C., Byrne, R.H, Liu, X., Feely, R.A., Mathis, J.T. Environmental 

Science & Technology 47:1468–1477, doi: 10.1021/es303631g, December 2013.

The changing carbon cycle of the coastal ocean. Bauer, J.E., Cai, W.-J., Raymond, P.A., Bianchi, 

T.S., Hopkinson, C.S., Regnier, P. Nature 504:61–70, doi:10.1038/nature12857, December

2013.

Building an integrated ocean observing network for the US. Mathis, J.T., Feely, R.A. Elementa, 

Science of the Anthropocene 1(7), doi: 10.12952/journal.elementa.000007, December 2013. 

Surface ocean pCO2 seasonality and sea-air CO2 flux estimates for the North American east 

coast. Signorini, S., Mannino, A., Najjar, R., Friedrichs, M.A.M., Cai, W.-J., Salisbury, J., Wang, 

Z., Thomas, H., Shadwick, E. Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans 118(10):5439–5460,

doi:10.1002/jgrc.20369, August 2013. 

The marine inorganic carbon system along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts of the United 

States: Insights from a transregional coastal carbon study. Wang, Z., Wanninkhof, R., Cai, W.J., 

Byrne, R.H., Hu, X., Peng, T.S., Huang, W.J. Limnology and Oceanography 58:325-342, 

doi:10.4319/lo.2013.58.1.0325, March 2013.

Assessment of sample storage techniques for total alkalinity and dissolved inorganic carbon in

seawater. Huang, W.-J., Wang, Y., Cai W.-J. Limnology and Oceanography-Methods 10:711-

717, doi:10.4319/lom.2012.10.711, January 2012. 

Sensitivity 

Due to the diversity of marine life and ecosystems globally and varied OA drivers, regional 

networks have developed through the GOA-ON community to better answer questions about the 

sensitivity of particular species and ecosystems that are integral to various cultures and 

economies. To date, networks have formed in both South America and Africa. Both of these 

regions’ coasts meet Eastern boundary currents where cold, CO2 rich water is upwelled onto the 

coast and drive shifts in carbonate chemistry. These upwelling areas can serve as natural 

laboratories to understand species and ecosystem response to environmental change. Efforts are 

underway to launch a North American regional network. 

Relevant publications: 

CO2 sensitivity experiments are not sufficient to show an effect of ocean 

acidification. McElhany, P. ICES Journal of Marine Science 74(4): 926–928, 

doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsw085, May 2017. 
38

Appropriate pCO2 treatments in ocean acidification experiments. McElhany, P., Busch, D.S. 

Marine Biology 160:1807-1812, doi:10.1007/s00227-012-2052-0, August 2013. 

Extensive dissolution of live pteropods in the Southern Ocean. Bednarsek, N., Tarling, G.A., 

Bakker, D.C.E., Fielding, S., Jones, E.M., Venable, H.J., Ward, P., Kuzirian, A., Leze, B., Feely, 

R.A., Murphy, E.J. Nature Geoscience Letters, doi:10.1038/NGEO1635, November 2012.

Human dimensions 

GOA-ON is working to understand the drivers and impacts of OA on marine ecosystems by 

building capacity in vulnerable regions around the globe. With 354 scientists from over 65 

countries, the network is continuing to grow. Ocean acidification experts, including those from 

NOAA, are building global capacity to address OA by training members in OA monitoring 

methodologies and best practices and by helping to develop new, lower-cost observing 

technologies. To ensure that knowledge related to OA continues to grow, the NOAA OAP 

spearheaded the creation of a mentoring network (Pier2Peer). This program matches senior 

scientists with new GOA-ON members to support the development of OA monitoring and 

research in emerging regions. Many NOAA and US scientists are serving as mentors. 

4. The OAP Looks Forward

The January 2017 OAP Principal Investigator meeting provided an opportunity to reflect on the 

OAP’s efforts to date and gather input on potential directions, priorities, and considerations for 

the next three-year funding cycle. A few themes emerged from these conversations. 

Fostering collaboration 

The community encouraged the OAP to continue its efforts to foster science collaboration among 

regions, scientific disciplines, parts of NOAA, and academic and non-governmental institutions. 

There is interest in having national OAP meetings every two to three years, and also for the OAP 

to organize smaller, discipline-focused meetings (i.e., cruise leads and modelers) in interim 

years. Principal Investigators would also like to see collaboration fostered through more 

opportunities for regional or discipline-based phone or web-conference meetings. Participants 

were enthusiastic about the web-based center for collaboration on OA that the Interagency 

Working Group on OA hopes to develop, especially if it includes a database of OA researchers, 

provides the opportunity for two-way exchanges with stakeholders, and could host stories about 

the vulnerability of ecosystems and communities to OA. 

Investing in synthesis efforts 

Significant headway can be made on understanding OA and its impacts and on developing 

information suitable for stakeholders through synthesis efforts. Principal Investigators would like 

more funding opportunities targeted to developing and conducting synthesis projects, similar to 

some of the funding opportunities which the OAP recently initiated. Areas of interest for such 

projects are improving the understanding of the differences in the drivers of OA among regions, 

linking interdisciplinary work through synthesis analysis, and developing accurate information 

for policy makers. 
39

Characterizing the environment 

There is interest in growing the network of OA monitoring assets, potentially including “sentinel 

sites” that focus not only on observations of OA and its impacts, but on education and outreach. 

That said, there is recognition that observation optimization studies are needed to design 

effective expansion strategies, and that maintaining and properly managing existing assets 

remains a challenge from the point of view of sustaining infrastructure and data transfer and 

management. 

Expansion of monitoring efforts is needed to better integrate chemical and biological 

observations. The best practices for characterizing ocean carbon chemistry are well-defined, but 

those for documenting the biological impacts of OA are not. Efforts to develop best practices for 

the biological component of OA monitoring in various habitat types are underway by the GOAON. Opportunities to develop monitoring sites that coincide with restoration projects should be 

explored as such efforts could generate unique data that is highly relevant to adaptation and 

mitigation efforts. 

There is also interest in having modelers and empiricists/observationalists work together on 

model validation, potentially through intensive field campaigns. Structured model 

intercomparisons in which model with analogous outputs for the same region are compared in a 

rigorous way should also be used to assess the robustness of regional and global models. 

Understanding sensitivity 

Work on the sensitivity of species and ecosystems to OA would benefit from better coordination 

and sharing of lessons learned across regions and ecosystems. The research community has 

embraced the concept of studying OA in the context of other stressors, and now is focused on the 

processes of adaptation and acclimation. Characterizing the mechanisms that drive species 

response to OA can be used to understand both, and fieldwork is needed to define how 

laboratory results differ from processes occurring in the natural environment and to document 

potential effects of OA on wild populations. 

Studying the social and economic implications of and adaptation to OA 

A major gap in the national OA portfolio is socioeconomic work. Such work is vital for 

understanding and communicating the implications of OA on human communities and for 

developing robust ways to adapt to ocean change that cannot be prevented. A variety of 

disciplines could be engaged to do this work, including economics, anthropology, geography, 

public health, policy, and law. 

Stakeholders are looking for multiple types of models to address various questions: there is 

interest in the generation of both operational and strategic output from models and in developing 

intermediate range (e.g., 10 year) projections and forecasts. Modelers recognize that they need to 

work across disciplines to address the multidisciplinary field of OA, and consider modeling 

consortia/working groups as a sound way to do so. Such group efforts could aid in addressing 

uncertainty, both between empiricists and modelers and among disciplines, and in developing 

event timelines for potential ecological effects of OA. 
40

Appendix 1. National and regional tasks in the NOAA OA Plan color coded by whether each task has been addressed (green), partially addressed 

(yellow), or not addressed (blue) by NOAA OAP. Some of the tasks not addressed by NOAA OAP-funded work are being addressed by work 

funded by other entities.

National Alaska West Coast Pacific Islands SE and Gulf of Mexico Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Great Lakes

Task 1.1: Develop and 

implement program for 

monitoring carbon-cyclerelated oceanographic 

parameters in U.S. coastal, 

Great Lakes, and open-ocean 

waters.

Task 2.1: Develop and 

implement program for 

monitoring carboncycle-related 

oceanographic 

parameters off Alaska.

Task 3.1.1: Develop and 

implement a program for 

monitoring carbon-cycle-related 

oceanographic

parameters on the West Coast.

Task 4.1.1: Implement a 

comprehensive program for 

monitoring carbon-cycle-related 

oceanographic parameters in 

the Pacific Islands.

Task 5.1.1: Establish requisite 

analytical capability for 

conducting high-quality 

carbonate chemistry 

measurements and training at 

AOML.

Task 6.1: Develop and conduct 

a monitoring program to assess 

the current state of ocean 

acidification and track its 

development in the northeast 

U.S. shelf ecosystem.

Task 7.1.1: Develop and 

implement a monitoring

network to measure lake 

carbon chemistry 

parameters related to 

acidification, with 

coverage across all five 

lakes and all seasons.

Task 1.2: Conduct ocean 

acidification experiments on 

individual species and species 

assemblages. Create state-ofthe-art NOAA facilities for 

these experiments which will 

also be available for nonNOAA researchers.

Task 2.2.1 Create stateof the-art facilities for 

conducting ocean 

acidification 

experiments on 

individual species and 

species assemblages

Task 3.1.2: Establish a Pacific 

Center of Expertise for ocean 

carbon chemistry at PMEL.

Task 4.1.2: Implement a 

comprehensive program for 

monitoring coral reef systems 

likely to be impacted by ocean 

acidification in the Pacific 

Islands.

Task 5.1.2: Establish SER/GOM 

ocean acidification 

coastal/oceanic mooring 

network.

Task 6.2.1: Conduct laboratory 

and targeted field studies to 

quantify the impact of ocean 

acidification on primary 

producers.

Task 7.1.2: Develop and 

implement a Great Lakes 

strategy to monitor 

biological response to

lake acidification.

Task 1.3.1: Develop regional 

biogeochemical models 

coupled to global carbon 

cycle models to predict local 

changes in carbon chemistry 

at multiple temporal scales

Task 2.2.2: Conduct 

acidification response 

experiments on species 

and species assemblages 

of interest in Alaska 

ecosystems.

Task 3.1.3: Develop and 

implement a program for 

biological monitoring to detect 

ecosystem changes caused by 

acidification and changes in 

biology that affect the carbon 

cycle on the West Coast.

Task 4.1.3: Monitor cryptic 

species and biodiversity for the 

effects of ocean acidification in 

the Pacific Islands.

Task 5.1.3: Conduct SER/GOM 

ocean acidification 

hydrographic/geochemical ship 

surveys

Task 6.2.2: Create a state-ofthe-art capability in the 

Northeast for conducting 

acidification experiments on 

individual species and species 

assemblages of shellfish and 

finfish and estimate the impact 

of ocean acidification on 

Northeast ecosystem resource 

species.

Task 7.2.1: Build NOAA 

capacity to study 

organismal response to 

lake acidification in 

manipulation 

experiments where 

effects of environmental 

factors on species can be 

studied individually and 

in combination

Task 1.3.2: Develop regional 

ecological and bioeconomic

models coupled to regional 

biogeochemical models to 

predict local changes in 

ecosystem, food web, and 

economic interactions

Task 2.3.1: Develop 

models to predict how 

Alaska ecosystems will 

change in response to 

ocean acidification and 

alternative ocean 

management actions

Task 3.1.4: Establish an 

immediate monitoring program 

focused on bivalve recruitment 

patterns.

Task 4.1.4: Monitor microbial 

communities for effects of 

ocean acidification in the 

Pacific Islands.

Task 5.1.4: Regional carbonate 

chemistry synoptic mapping.

Task 6.3: Develop and 

implement models to assess the 

effects of ocean acidification on 

singlespecies dynamics, multispecies interactions, and overall 

ecosystem productivity.

Task 7.3.1: Develop and 

test coupled 

physical/biogeochemical 

and food web models and 

scenarios to address lake 

acidification effects on 

each of the Great Lake 

ecosystems.

Task 1.4.1: Estimate 

anticipated changes to 

ecosystem services as a 

consequence of ocean 

acidification and evaluate 

alternative management 

options

Task 2.3.2: Develop 

regional biogeochemical 

models coupled to global 

carbon cycle models to 

predict local changes in 

carbon chemistry at 

multiple temporal scales

Task 3.1.5: Establish Intensively 

Studied Marine Areas for 

monitoring ocean acidification.

Task 4.2.1: Conduct laboratory 

experiment to estimate the 

effect of ocean acidification on 

important species in the Pacific 

Islands.

Task 5.1.5: Establish the 

SER/GOM portion of a coral reef 

ocean acidification monitoring 

program.

Task 6.4: Estimate anticipated 

changes to northeast ecosystem 

services as a consequence of 

OA and develop a decision 

framework for adaptation 

strategies.

Task 7.4.1: Estimate 

anticipated changes to 

ecosystem services as a 

consequence of lake 

acidification and evaluate 

alternative management 

options.
41

National Alaska West Coast Pacific Islands SE and Gulf of Mexico Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Great Lakes

Task 1.4.2: Test mitigation 

approaches under laboratory 

and field conditions. Develop 

adaptation strategies.

Task 2.4: Estimate 

economic consequences 

for Alaska king crab 

fisheries due to ocean 

acidification

Task 3.2.1: Create a state-of-theart NOAA facility on the West 

Coast for conducting ocean 

acidification experiments on 

individual species and species 

assemblages.

Task 4.2.2: Conduct in situ 

experiments manipulating CO2 

to estimate the effect of ocean 

acidification in the natural 

environment.

Task 5.1.6: Establish a seagrass 

OA monitoring program

Task 6.5.1: Provide a first 

integrated assessment of the 

effects of OA on the northeast 

U.S. continental shelf 

ecosystem.

Task 7.4.2: Test 

mitigation approaches 

under laboratory and 

field conditions. Develop 

adaptation strategies.

Task 1.5.1: Develop data and 

information tools for 

evaluating the consequences 

of ocean acidification to 

create more effective 

management strategies.

Task 2.5: Synthesize, 

archive, and report 

results of ocean 

acidification research in 

products usable for 

fisheries management.

Task 3.2.2: Support development 

of collaborative facilities for 

acidification response 

experiments

Task 4.2.3: Estimate historical 

changes to corals as a response 

to fluctuating CO2.

Task 5.1.7: Establish an estuarine 

OA monitoring program.

Task 6.6: Identify target 

audiences and determine 

appropriate programs and 

products utilizing innovative 

approaches for community 

involvement.

Task 7.5.1: Develop data 

and information tools for 

evaluating the 

consequences of lake 

acidifi- cation and 

potential management 

actions to facilitate more 

effective management.

Task 1.6: Implement an 

education and outreach 

program to communicate the 

science and ecosystem 

consequences of ocean 

acidification to the public and 

stakeholder communities.

Task 2.6: Implement an 

education and outreach 

program to communicate 

the science, economic, 

and ecosystem 

consequences of ocean 

acidification to the 

public and stakeholder 

communities

Task 3.2.3: Conduct acidification 

response experiments on species 

and species assemblages of 

interest in West Coast 

ecosystems

Task 4.2.4: Conduct 

experiments on how beach 

forming processes will be 

affected by ocean acidification

Task 5.2.1: Conduct speciesspecific OA exposure 

experiments.

Task 7.6.1: Develop and 

implement coordination, 

education, and outreach 

schemes to communicate 

the science and 

ecosystem consequences 

of ocean acidification to 

the public and 

stakeholder communities 

and to facilitate effective 

communication among 

regional collaborators.

Task 3.2.4: Assess the calcium 

carbonate mineralogy of species 

important to West Coast 

ecosystems.

Task 4.2.5: Behavior response 

experiments of cetaceans to 

increased ocean sound 

propagation with ocean 

acidification

Task 5.2.2: Conduct lab and/or 

field experiments to determine 

OA impacts on key species 

interactions (e.g., competition, 

predation, facilitation).

Task 3.2.5: Correlate hindcasts of 

West Coast saturation states with 

historical biological timeseries of 

species abundance to estimate 

how species and communities 

responded to past changes in 

saturation state.

Task 4.3.1: Develop finescale, 

wave-driven hydrodynamic 

circulation models for coral reef 

habitats throughout the Pacific 

Islands region.

Task 5.2.3: Conduct coral 

sclerochronology for 

retrospective OA assessment to 

detect the coral calcification 

historical response.

Task 3.2.6: Explore technologies 

for in situ open ocean and semipermeable mesocosm 

experiments to test predictions 

from ecosystem models and 

species not amenable to 

laboratory culture.

Task 4.3.2: Develop 

biogeochemical models to 

predict Pacific Islands 

ecosystem responses to ocean 

acidification.

Task 5.3.1: Develop regional 

biogeochemical forecast models 

coupled to global carbon cycle 

models to predict local changes 

in carbon chemistry at multiple 

temporal scales.
42

National Alaska West Coast Pacific Islands SE and Gulf of Mexico Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Great Lakes

Task 3.2.7: Conduct laboratory 

and field experiments on 

potential local mitigation 

methods

Task 4.3.3: Refine existing 

trophic interaction ecosystem 

model (Ecopath with Ecosim) 

to predict ecosystem impacts of 

ocean acidification in the 

Pacific Islands.

Task 5.3.2: Develop regional 

biogeochemical hindcast models 

to evaluate historical changes in 

carbonate chemistry within the 

SER/GOM.

Task 3.3.1: Develop regional 

biogeochemical models coupled 

to global carbon cycle models to 

predict local changes in carbon 

chemistry at multiple temporal 

scales.

Task 4.3.4: Develop coupled 

sand transport and 

biogeochemistry models to 

predict the impacts of ocean 

acidification on critical nesting 

beach habitats.

Task 5.3.3: Develop regional 

ecoforecast models

Task 3.3.2: Design and 

implement experiments and 

observation projects to estimate 

critical parameters for regional 

carbon models

Task 4.3.5: Develop sound 

propagation models to predict 

the impacts of ocean 

acidification on protected 

cetacean species across the 

Pacific Islands region.

Task 5.4.1: Forecast impacts to 

ecosystem services within the 

SER/GOM.

Task 3.3.3: Develop and apply 

algorithms to reconstruct 

historical carbon chemistry 

conditions over local to regional 

scales.

Task 4.4: Estimate the impact 

of ocean acidification on 

socioeconomic activities.

Task 5.4.2: Conduct necessary 

social impact and vulnerability 

assessments to ascertain probable 

social impacts of OA and 

identify possible mitigation 

strategies within the SER/GOM.

Task 3.3.4: Develop models to 

predict how West Coast 

ecosystems will change in 

response to ocean acidification 

and alternative ocean 

management actions.

Task 4.5: Develop data and 

information tools for evaluating 

the consequences of ocean 

acidification in the PIR to 

create more effective 

management strategies.

Task 5.4.3: Develop mitigation 

and community adaptation 

strategies.

Task 3.4.1: Estimate anticipated 

changes to West Coast ecosystem 

services as a consequence of 

ocean acidification.

Task 4.6: Implement an 

education and outreach program 

in the PIR to increase public 

understanding of ocean 

acidification.

Task 5.6.1: Create and distribute 

media that clearly and concisely 

describe the chemistry of OA as

well as the known and 

hypothesized impacts.

Task 3.4.2: Develop technical 

tools for evaluating the 

consequences of potential 

management actions related to 

ocean acidification on the West 

Coast to create more effective 

management strategies.

Task 5.6.2: Create an interactive 

website focused on OA in the 

SER/GOM.
43

National Alaska West Coast Pacific Islands SE and Gulf of Mexico Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Great Lakes

Task 3.5.1: Develop and 

participate in effective 

management and dissemination 

of regionally produced data and 

data products related to ocean 

acidification.

Task 5.6.3: Develop regular 

summary literature that provides 

a State of the Science of OA and 

Known Impacts in the 

SER/GOM.

Task 3.6.1: Implement an 

education and outreach program 

to communicate the science and 

ecosystem consequences of 

ocean acidification to the West 

Coast public and stakeholder 

communities.

Task 5.6.4: Install interactive 

displays at aquaria in the 

southeastern United States.

Task 5.6.5: Create education 

modules and curricula that can be 

used by teachers to help describe 

OA and its impacts to students.
44

Appendix 2. Agenda for the January 2017 NOAA OA Program Principal Investigators’ meeting. 

NOAA OA PI Meeting Agenda

Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, WA 

January 4-6, 2017

DAY 1 “Where we have been” (open to all) 

0745 Registration 

0815 -

0830

Workshop Welcome and Logistics

Objective: Workshop Welcome and Introduction by Chris 

Sabine and Libby Jewett

0830-0915 OA – The NOAA Program and Global Perspective

a. Introduction to OAP (Dwight Gledhill)

b. OA in a Global Context (Libby Jewett)

0915-1015 OAP Funded Science Presentations: Nat’l Coral Reef 

Monitoring Program (NCRMP)

Objective: Update participants on coral-focused scientific 

activities of various NOAA labs, programs and partners.

1015-1045 Break - Coffee and snacks available 

1045

1215

OAP Funded Science PANEL Presentations: West Coast

Objective: Update participants on scientific activities of various 

NOAA labs, programs and partners 

1215-1315 Lunch

1315-1400 OAP Funded Science PANEL Presentations: Gulf of Mexico

Objective: Update participants on scientific activities of various 

NOAA labs, programs and partners

1400-1515 OAP Funded Science PANEL Presentations: East Coast

Objective: Update participants on scientific activities of various 

NOAA labs, programs and partners

1515-1545 Break - Coffee and snacks available

1545-1630

OAP Funded Science PANEL Presentations: US Arctic and 

Alaska

Objective: Update participants on scientific activities of various 

NOAA labs, programs and partners

1630-1700 Reflections on a day of OAP funded science - Libby Jewett
45

1700-1900 Poster Session 

1900

Adjourn 

Homework: Think about what you’ve seen today and tomorrow 

we will identify gaps and make plans to address those gaps

DAY 2 “Ways forward for NOAA OAP” 

(open to all registered participants)

800 Arrival and get through Security

0815-0830 Introductions: Go around the room and introduce each 

participant (name and affiliation)

0830 - 0945

Ways forward 

Activities/Interactions: 

1. State of OAP during the FY15-17 (Libby Jewett)

2. Panel Discussion with stakeholders

3. Charge to Breakouts

0945-1000 Break--Coffee and snacks

1000-1200

Regional Breakout Discussions

Objective: Small group discussions—organized by region--to 

identify and opportunities for NOAA, broadly, and the OAP, 

specifically. 

1200 - 1300 Lunch

1300-1345 Breakout Group Report out

1345-1500 Ways Forward for NOAA: Partnerships

Objective: Participants learn about ways OAP can foster and 

utilize partnerships to advance the field and help fill the gaps 

identified in the previous breakouts.

Activities/Interactions:

1. Presentation to outline current partnerships and (Shallin

Busch)

2. Panel discussion about how and why existing

partnerships have been successful

3. Charge to Breakouts

1500-1545 Breakout Discussions: Partnerships

Objective: Small group discussions on partnerships inside and 

outside of NOAA. This breakout will be useful to share 

approaches and partnerships that have worked in one region with 
46

participants from other regions.

Total time: 45 min

1545-1600 Break - Coffee and snacks

1600-1620 Breakout Group report out

1620-1700 Reflections on the Meeting (Libby Jewett)

1800-2000 Meeting Dinner 

DAY 3 “Ways forward for NOAA OAP – Internal planning”

(OAP PIs only)

0830-0900 Coffee and snacks

0900 - 1030

OAP FY18-20 Planning Session 

Objective: Provide programmatic context for work going 

forward

Activities/Interactions: 

1. Recap Days 1 and 2 (Jenn Mintz /Dwight Gledhill)

2. How outreach can work for you (Jenn Mintz)

3. Discuss near- and long-term priorities for OAP (Libby 

Jewett)

4. FY 18-20 workplan process and timeline (Erica 

Ombres)

1030-1100 Break - Coffee and snacks

1100-1200

Data Management -

Presentations by Liqing Jiang and Eugene Burger

Objective: Update participants about partners’ data 

management groups’ recent advances, current 

capabilities/development and review requirements.

1200 - 1345

Working Lunch (Breakouts)

Objective: Breakout by thematic area (e.g., species response 

experiments, ocean chemistry modeling, integrated

interdisciplinary OA monitoring, hydrographic cruises etc.) to 

discuss how research in various regions can be more intercomparable and more complementary. 

Activities/Interactions: Breakout discussion

1. Species response: Chris Chambers

2. Monitoring: Gabrielle Canonico

3. Cruises: Leticia Barbero

4. Modeling (including ecological modeling): Beth Turner
47

1345-1430 Breakout Discussion Report Out

1430-1500 Meeting Wrap Up – Libby Jewett

1500 Adjourn
48

Appendix 3. Participants at the January 2017 NOAA OA Program Principal Investigators 

meeting. 

PARTICIPANT LIST 

Name Affiliation

Adrienne Sutton

NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, University of Washington 

Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean

Alex Harper NOAA Ocean Acidification Program

Amanda Kelley University of Alaska Fairbanks

Andrew Dickson Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego

Andrew Dittman NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Becky Briggs NOAA National Sea Grant Office

Beth Phelan NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Howard laboratory

Beth Turner NOAA, National Ocean Service, Center for Sponsored Ocean Research

Burke Hales Oregon State University

Caren Braby Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Carol Bernthal NOAA, National Ocean Service, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

Carol Stepien NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Chase Williams University of Washington

Chris Caldow NOAA National Ocean Service, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary

Chris Chambers NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Science Center

Chris Harvey NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Chris Long NOAA National Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center

Chris Melrose NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Science Center

Chris Sabine NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Dan Wiezorak NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Science Center

Danielle Lipski NOAA National Ocean Service, Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary

Danielle Perez NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Darcy Dugan Alaska Ocean Observing System

David Murphy SeaBird

Derek Manzello NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic Meteorological Laboratory

Dwight Gledhill NOAA Ocean Acidification Program

Emily E Bockmon Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Emily Osborne NOAA Arctic Program

Eric Heinen De Carlo Oceanography, SOEST, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Erica Ombres NOAA Ocean Acidification Program
49

Eugene Burger NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Hollie Putnam University of Washington / University of Rhode Island

Gabrielle Canonico NOAA U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System/ U.S. MBON

George Waldbusser Oregon State University

Ian Enochs

NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic Meteorological Laboratory, 

University of Miami Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies

Isaac Kaplan NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Jacqueline PadillaGamiño University of Washington

Jameal Samhouri NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Science Center

Jan Newton University of Washington

Jan Roletto NOAA National Ocean Service, Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary

Jennifer BennettMintz NOAA Ocean Acidification Program

Jenny Waddell NOAA National Ocean Service, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

Jeremy Mathis NOAA Arctic Program

Jessica Cross NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Jill Brandenberger Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Joseph Salisbury University of New Hampshire

Justine Kimball NOAA Coral Program

Kathy Tedesco NOAA Climate Program Office

Kevin Grant NOAA National Ocean Service, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

Kevin O'Brien

NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, 

University of Washington Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean

Kimberly Puglise NOAA National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science

Krista Nichols NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Laura Bianucci Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Laura Francis NOAA National Ocean Service, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary

Leslie Wickes NOAA Ocean Acidification Program/ Southeast Ocean and Coastal Acidification Network

Leticia Barbero NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic Meteorological Laboratory

Libby Jewett NOAA Ocean Acidification Program

Linda Rhodes NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Liqing Jiang NESDIS/NCEI

Maria Kavanaugh Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Mark Strom NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Matthew Poach

NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 

Sandy Hook Laboratory
50

Meg Chadsey Washington Sea Grant, University of Washington

Melissa Poe

Washington Sea Grant, University of Washington and 

NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Michael Li NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center Intern

Michael Maher NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Michael Rust NOAA Office of Aquaculture

Mike Sigler NOAA National Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center

Mitchell Tartt NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries

Paul McElhany NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Richard A. Feely NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Rick Goetz NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Rik Wanninkhof NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic Meteorological Laboratory

Robert Foy NOAA National Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center

Ru Morrison Northeast Regional Ocean Observing System, Northeast Coastal Acidification Network

Ruben Van 

Hooidonk

NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic Meteorological Laboratory, 

University of Miami Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies

Rusty Brainard NOAA National Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Sam Siedlecki University of Washington

Sarah Cooley Ocean Conservancy

Shallin Busch

NOAA Ocean Acidification Program/ NOAA National Fisheries Service, 

Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Shannon Meseck NOAA National Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Science Center

Simone Alin NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Steven Roberts University of Washington

Tarang Khangaonkar Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Thomas Oliver NOAA National Fisheries Service, Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center

Tom Hurst NOAA National Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center

Uwe Send Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of San Diego

Wei-Jun Cai University of Delaware

Xinping Hu Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi