NSF Awards Grants to Study Effects of Ocean Acidification
With
increasing levels of carbon dioxide accumulating in the atmosphere and moving
into marine systems, the world's oceans are becoming more acidic, scientists
have shown.
To address
the growing concern for acidifying marine systems, the National Science
Foundation (NSF) has awarded 21 grants under the Ocean Acidification theme of
its Climate Research Investment. The awards are supported and managed by NSF's
Office of Polar Programs, Directorate for Geosciences, and Directorate for
Biological Sciences.
Projects
will foster research on the nature, extent and effects of ocean acidification
on marine environments and organisms in the past, present and future--from
tropical systems to icy seas.
"Ocean
acidification likely affects marine ecosystems, life histories, food webs and
biogeochemical cycling," says Karl Erb, director of NSF's Office of Polar
Programs. "We need to understand the chemistry of ocean acidification and
its interplay with marine biochemical and physiological processes--before
Earth's seas become inhospitable to life as we know it."
Animal
species from pteropods--delicate, butterfly-like planktonic drifters--to hard
corals are affected by ocean acidification; so, too, are the unseen microbes
that fuel ocean productivity and influence the chemical functioning of ocean
waters.
As oceans
become more acidic, the balance of molecules needed for shell-bearing organisms
to manufacture shells and skeletons is altered. The physiology of many marine
species, from microbes to fish, may be affected. A myriad of chemical reactions
and cycles are influenced by the pH of the oceans.
Has ocean
life faced similar challenges in our planet's past?
"Earth
system history informs our understanding of the effects of ocean acidification
on the present-day and future ocean," says Tim Killeen, NSF assistant
director for Geosciences.
"For a
true comprehension of how acidification will change the oceans," says
Killeen, "we must integrate paleoecology with marine chemistry, physics,
and ecology, and an understanding of the past environmental conditions on Earth."
NSF's ocean
acidification awards involve researchers from all these disciplines.
The
investigators will use diverse approaches such as observational systems,
experimental studies, theory and modeling, says Erb, to make important new
discoveries about how we're changing the world's oceans.
NSF Ocean
Acidification Awards
PI
(Principal Investigator): Paul Falkowski; Institution: Rutgers University
Title: The
molecular basis of ocean acidification effects on calcification in
zooxanthellate corals
Summary:
Coral reefs are formed and maintained by calcifying organisms, particularly
reef-building corals. Current predictions are that coral species will be
affected; however, the limited number of available measurements exhibit
significant variability. This program is focused on the molecular basis for
calcification in corals in order to understand how corals will respond to ocean
acidification.
PI: Emily
Carrington; Institution: University of Washington
Title:
Effects of ocean acidification on coastal organisms: an ecomaterials
perspective
Summary:
Ocean acidification may affect the integrity of biologically-manufactured
materials, which in turn may alter interactions among members of marine
communities. The research emphasizes an ecomaterial approach. A team of
biomaterials and ecomechanics experts will apply their unique perspective to
detail how environmental conditions affect the structural integrity and
ecological performance of organisms.
PI: Uta
Passow; Institution: University of California-Santa Barbara
Title: Will
high carbon dioxide conditions affect production, partitioning and fate of
organic matter?
Summary:
Researchers will investigate the potential effects of ocean acidification on
the strength of the biological pump--the transfer of carbon from the surface
ocean to its depths--under an increased carbon dioxide scenario. How carbon
over-consumption affects the strength of the biological pump will depend on the
fate of the extra carbon that is either incorporated into phytoplankton cells
forming particulate organic matter (POM), or is excreted as dissolved organic
matter (DOM).
PI:
Francois Morel; Institution: Princeton University
Title:
Effects of pCO2 [partial pressure of carbon dioxide] and pH on photosynthesis,
respiration and growth in marine phytoplankton
Summary:
This project is an examination of the growth rates and physiological responses
of marine phytoplankton to increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide and
acidity. The results will make it possible to assess, and eventually predict,
future changes in phytoplankton ecology and ocean productivity in response to
ocean acidification.
PI:
Jonathon Stillman; Institution: San Francisco State University
Title:
Synergistic effects of temperature and pH variability on physiology,
transcriptome and proteome of porcelain crabs
Summary:
Organisms that live on the ocean floor (crabs, sea stars and oysters)
experience daily variations in their pH (acidity) that are greater than those
caused by increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This project
asks the question: how do increases in ocean acidity, which changes slowly
through time, compare with the daily variations in pH that seafloor organisms
experience? The impacts of simultaneous changes in pH and temperature will be
assessed, and scientists will determine whether early life history stages (crab
larvae) are more sensitive to ocean acidification than adults.
PI: Robert
Carpenter; Institution: California State University-Northridge
Title: The
effects of ocean acidification on the organismic biology and community ecology
of corals, calcified algae and coral reefs
Summary:
The project focuses on the corals, calcified algae, and coral reefs of Moorea,
French Polynesia, and establishes baseline community-wide calcification data
for the detection of ocean acidification effects on a decadal scale. It builds
on the research context and climate change focus of the NSF Moorea Coral Reef
Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site, one of 26 such NSF LTER sites around
the world. While coral reefs have undergone unprecedented changes in community
structure in the past 50 years, they now may be exposed to their gravest threat
since the Triassic.
PI: James
McClintock; Institution: University of Alabama-Birmingham
Title: The
effects of ocean acidification and rising sea surface temperatures on
shallow-water benthic organisms in Antarctica
Summary:
Researchers will investigate the individual and combined effects of rising
ocean acidification and sea surface temperatures on shallow-water calcified
benthic organisms in Western Antarctic Peninsula marine communities. The
Southern Ocean ecosystem is among the most vulnerable marine environments, due
to low carbonate ion content of seawater and weakly calcified organisms. The
project employs both single-species and multi-species level approaches to
evaluating the impacts of rising ocean acidification and seawater temperature
at the organismal and ecosystem levels.
PI: Baerbel
Hoenisch; Institution: Columbia University, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory
Title:
Calibration and application of the boron isotope seawater-pH indicator in
deep-water corals
Summary:
Carbon dioxide enters the ocean at high latitudes and spreads into the deep
ocean interior. Because carbonate saturation is generally reduced in the deep
ocean, deep-sea corals may be particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification. This
project will examine the history of pH-variations experienced by these corals
and provide new insights into the effect of changing seawater carbonate
chemistry and ocean acidification on deep-sea coral reefs.
PI: Jeremy
Mathis; Institution: University of Alaska-Fairbanks
Title:
Observation and Prediction of Ocean Acidification in the Western Arctic Ocean -
Impacts of Physical and Biogeochemical Processes on Carbonate Mineral States
Summary:
The investigators will assess ocean acidification in the western Arctic Ocean,
particularly the key physical, chemical, and biogeochemical processes
influencing the saturation of aragonite and calcite. The study will develop
algorithms for determining saturation state, and set the stage for assessing
the potential effects of ocean acidification on benthic and pelagic
communities.
PI: Taro
Takahashi; Institution: Columbia University, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory
Title:
Climatological Mean Distribution of pH in Surface Waters in the Unified pH
Scale and Mean Rate of changes in Selected Areas
Summary:
Researchers will construct the global distribution of surface ocean pH in a
single unified scale based on observations of pCO2 (partial pressure of carbon
dioxide), total alkalinity and total carbon dioxide ion concentration in
surface waters. Their efforts will allow for the development of a global ocean
pH and carbonate concentration baseline that is anchored to international
carbon dioxide standards common to these atmospheric and oceanic carbon dioxide
measurements.
PI: Lisa
Levin; Institution: University of California-San Diego Scripps Institution of
Oceanography
Title:
Development of geochemical proxies to evaluate larval pH-exposure history
Summary:
This project is a partnership among connectivity ecology, metal isotope
geochemistry, and paleoclimatology experts to identify new proxies for ocean
acidification that can be used to assess pH exposures in living organisms--and
potentially to interpret the geologic record. The investigators will determine
if the isotopic composition of larval calcium carbonates reflects changes in
seawater chemistry driven by ocean acidification and, in some instances, with
associated decline in oxygen levels.
PI: Adina
Paytan; Institution: University of California-Santa Cruz
Title:
Calcification in low saturation seawater: What can we learn from organisms in
the proximity of low pH, undersaturated submarine springs?
Summary: In
this study, researchers will assess the utility of low pH submarine springs as
field study sites for investigating calcification at low aragonite saturation. Many
reef-building corals cease calcification at saturation as high as 2.0; around
these springs, calcifying corals inhabit waters well below this value. Work
will take place at a series of springs in Mexico, which can provide a natural
laboratory to study controls on coral calcification.
PI: Edward
Urban; Institution: Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR)
Title:
Third Symposium on "The Ocean in a High-CO2 World"
Summary:
The Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR), Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, and International Geosphere -
Biosphere Programme (IGBP) have formed a committee to plan the third symposium
on The Ocean in a High-CO2 World. This symposium will provide a forum for the
global community of scientists studying ocean acidification to share their
research results through oral and poster presentations; identify priority
research topics and approaches for international collaboration through
discussion groups; create a summary of the latest research results for
policymakers; and create a special issue of a peer-reviewed journal. The
symposium will be hosted by a consortium of institutions in Monterey,
California in autumn 2012.
PI: Bruce
Menge; Institution: Oregon State University
Title:
Acclimation and adaptation to ocean acidification of key ecosystem components
in the California Current System
Summary:
This large collaborative project will investigate the impacts of ocean
acidification on two ecologically important marine species in relation to
variation in carbonate chemistry in the California Current Large Marine
Ecosystem. The seven-institution team comprises investigators with expertise in
physical and chemical oceanography, marine ecology, biochemistry, molecular
physiology, and molecular genetics. They will carry out an integrated lab and
field multi-site investigation of the ecological, physiological, and
evolutionary responses of sea urchins and mussels to spatial and temporal
variations in ocean acidification. This effort will augment and complement
other studies focused on ocean acidification in the northern California and
Oregon region.
PI: Gareth
Lawson; Institution: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Title:
Horizontal and Vertical Distribution of Thecosome Pteropods in Relation to
Carbonate Chemistry in the Northwest Atlantic and Northeast Pacific
Summary:
Pteropods are a group of calcareous planktonic molluscs in coastal and open
ocean pelagic ecosystems of the world's oceans. These animals secrete an
aragonite shell, and thus are highly sensitive to ocean acidification. In many
regions, however, relatively little is known about the abundance, distribution,
vertical migratory behavior, and ecological importance of pteropods. The
primary objective of this project is to quantify the distribution, abundance,
species composition, shell condition, and vertical migratory behavior of
pteropods in the northwest Atlantic and northeast Pacific, and relate these to
hydrography and measurements of carbonate chemistry, including vertical and
horizontal distributions of aragonite saturation.
PI: Robert
Thunell; Institution: University of South Carolina-Columbia
Title:
Real-time assessment of ocean acidification proxies and their incorporation in
the marine sediment record
Summary:
The change in atmospheric carbon dioxide during the last 200 years and its
effect on seawater chemistry are not unique but have occurred frequently
throughout geologic history. Quantifying the response of the oceans to such
naturally occurring changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide provides valuable
insights for modeling and predicting future changes in ocean chemistry
associated with anthropogenic increases in carbon dioxide. This work will
further develop and calibrate three carbonate ion and pH proxies using data
from a 15-year time series of sediment trap samples and water column chemistry
measurements as part of the Cariaco Basin ocean time series.
PI: Sean Place;
Institution: University of South Carolina-Columbia
Title:
Identifying adaptive responses of polar fishes in a vulnerable ecosystem
Summary:
Notothenoids, the dominant fish of Antarctic marine ecosystems, are exquisitely
adapted to cold environments and have narrow physiological tolerances. This
research will investigate the interacting and potentially synergistic influence
of two climate-related oceanographic features--ocean acidification and the
projected rise in mean sea surface temperatures--on the physiological
performance of this unique group of fishes that are prominent components of
Antarctic food webs.
PI: Jeffrey Runge; Institution: University of Maine
Title: Impact of ocean acidification on survival of early
life stages of planktonic copepods in the genus Calanus in the northern oceans
Summary: While attention on impacts of predicted
acidification of the world's oceans has focused on calcifying organisms,
non-calcifying plankton may also be vulnerable. In this project, the
investigator will evaluate the potential for impacts of ocean acidification on
the reproductive success of three species of planktonic copepods in the genus
Calanus that are prominent in high latitude oceans and play an important role
in marine food webs.
PI: Andrea Grottoli; Institution: Ohio State University
Title: Interactive Effects of Temperature, Nutrients, and
Ocean Acidification on Coral Physiology and Calcification
Summary: This project will investigate the possible
synergistic and antagonistic effects of elevated temperature, carbon dioxide,
and nutrients on the physiology and internal calcifying chemistry of several
species of corals in a laboratory setting. Research tools include the
assessment of coral energy reserves and metabolic demand, symbiotic algal
physiology and molecular diversity, coral calcification, and direct measurement
of the internal coral pH and carbonate concentration via microprobes.
PI: Anne Cohen; Institution: Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution
Title: An Investigation of the Role of Nutrition in the
Coral Calcification Response to Ocean Acidification
Summary: It's predicted that coral calcification rates could
decline by up to 80 percent of modern values by the end of this century. The
investigators will examine corals' energetic status, tightly coupled to the
availability of inorganic nutrients and/or food availability, as determinants
of the calcification response to ocean acidification. Their hypothesis, if
confirmed, suggests that predicted changes in coastal and open ocean nutrient
concentrations over the course of this century could play a critical role in
coral reef response to ocean acidification.
PI: Jorge Sarmiento; Institution: Princeton University
Title: Does the strength of the carbonate pump change with
ocean stratification and acidification and how?
Summary: This project will improve the ability to predict
the response of the carbonate pump to ocean acidification and stratification
through enhanced understanding of the controlling factors of the export of
calcium carbonate from the surface, and cycling through the water column and
sediments. Key questions to be addressed are: Does the strength of the
carbonate pump change in response to ocean acidification and stratification? Is
the calcium carbonate export more closely associated with picoplankton and
nanoplankton ecosystems than with blooming microplankton? How do organic
particle fluxes and the saturation state of seawater affect the dissolution of
calcium carbonate in the water column and sediments?
This program is part of NSF's investment in Science,
Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES). The overall SEES
portfolio addresses challenges in climate and energy research and education
using a systems-based approach to understanding, predicting, and reacting to
change in the natural, social, and built environments.
For FY 2010, new solicitations were released that aligned
with key aspects of NSF's SEES portfolio. These solicitations (Water
Sustainability and Climate; Dimensions of Biodiversity; Ocean Acidification;
Regional and Decadal Earth Systems Modeling; and the Climate Change Education
Program) resulted in 70 awards totaling $66 million.
-NSF-
Corallium rubrum and other deep-sea corals are affected by ocean acidification.
Credit and Larger Version
Credit and Larger Version
NSF Awards
Grants to Study Effects of Ocean Acidification
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