News

UAF’s Ocean Acidification Research Center is offering the opportunity to analyze ocean acidification samples by students. This is a great way to augment your project and work with new research partners.

January 8 is the international “Ocean Acidification Day of Action”. The date was selected because 8.1 is the current average pH of the ocean, and the collective goal is to prevent pH from decreasing below that level. The Ocean Foundation launched the inaugural day of action in 2019 and it is now observed internationally.

Oceanographer Claudine Hauri and her team at University for Alaska Fairbanks are expanding the use of sea gliders to better understand carbon chemistry in Alaska waters.

The Alaska OA Network is partnering on a coastal radio series to elevate the voices of local researchers, fishermen and community members in Kodiak and their perspectives on climate and fisheries. Check out the first two shows.

In Sept, the Alaska OA Network co-hosted a webinar on marine carbon dioxide removal. The session provided an introduction to ocean iron fertilization as a possible method, the science needed to assess potential ecosystem impacts, and the state of field experiments and alternative pathways. Watch the recorded webinar.

Researchers have put together a set of interactive climatologies (long-term average conditions) and atlases depicting OA status across North American marine ecosystems. Read an interview with NOAA’s Simone Alin to learn about what these maps show for Alaska.

Funding from NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program in the coming years will help expand monitoring in Alaska. Researchers are working together to figure out how to best use these funds with input from Alaskans.

Kelp provide many ecosystem services and has been identified as a potential carbon dioxide removal strategy through large-scale cultivation, though many scientific questions remain. This webinar examined the fates, timescales and effectiveness at a local or global scale, as well as ecological and cost considerations.

Natalie Monacci is the director of the Ocean Acidification Research Center (OARC) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and is a long time member and collaborator in the Alaska Ocean Acidification Network.

NOAA laboratory experiments are simulating future conditions to help predict the climate resilience of Alaska fish. A study looking at the early life stages of Pacific cod showed more sensitivity to warming than to acidification.

There is growing interest around cultivating or preserving kelp beds to mitigate climate change and provide benefits to species such as shellfish who are susceptible to ocean acidification. This page provides answers to questions we’ve heard from Alaskans, as well as a summary of research underway and articles and resources for learning more.

The Alaska OA Network is launching a free online course that provides a process-based understanding of ocean acidification’s impacts in Alaska waters. The course comprises 8-modules that are filled with short videos, vibrant photos, and easy-to-digest language.

Homer public radio highlights a study from the University of Alaska Fairbanks showing that ocean acidification affects how razor clams forms their shells.

As carbon dioxide removal becomes a bigger topic in Alaska, the Alaska OA Network is co-hosting and/or circulating learning opportunities so Alaskans can approach this issue from an educated perspective. Join the series to learn more about approaches, challenges and projects underway.

This new storymap is a part of a collection of 6 regional maps across the U.S. exploring ocean acidification, what we know in the region, and ways people are engaging.

The Alaska OA Network is working with partners to develop ideas for discussion series an ocean acidification and climate in early 2024. This short (<5 min) survey will help us select session topics fo the series. Thanks for your input!

Researchers from UAF conducted an experiment looking at the direct effect of exposure to future OA conditions and the indirect effect of reduced food availability on juvenile pink salmon. Read what they found.

As carbon dioxide removal becomes a bigger topic in Alaska, the Alaska OA Network is co-hosting and/or circulating learning opportunities so Alaskans can approach this issue from an educated perspective. Join the series to learn more about approaches, challenges and projects underway.

Communities on Kodiak Island have been collecting water samples for OA through an effort coordinated by the Kodiak Area Native Association (KANA). KANA put together a brochure to orient community members to the topic and explain what the samples mean.

The federal Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification (IWG-OA) just released a national report on coastal community vulnerability to OA. Alaska OA Network members helped contribute to the Alaska chapter which starts on page 50.