Community Sampling and Ocean Acidification Observations in South-central Alaska

Why we care
Southeast Alaska experiences ocean acidification at a faster rate than other regions due to its cold water temperatures and ocean current patterns. Indigenous communities rely on a healthy marine ecosystem and the culturally and economically important species that are impacted. This long-term community science monitoring program brings together scientists, aquaculturists, and seven Alaska Native communities to build capacity. This project brings awareness about the program, ocean acidification, and its impacts through multimedia. 

What we are doing
The CRRC created a video in partnership with Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery (APSH) to communicate the scientific findings of a long term Native Alaskan community science water quality program  south-central Alaska. The goals of the video are educating and raising awareness  of ocean acidification and the community science monitoring program to Alaskan Natives and communities the CRRC serves. The video delivers the main findings of the program, highlights the partners and points to current and future impacts to wild shellfish and traditional subsistence food in the Chugach region. 

Benefits of our work
This monitoring program serves as an example of co-producing science with indigenous communities that can be used nationwide. The video provides long-term water quality and ocean acidification monitoring data in a more meaningful storytelling format for coastal Alaska Native communities impacted by changing ocean conditions. By using different science communication techniques, such as through multimedia projects, the CRRC and APSH can reach more communities that may be interested in starting a water quality monitoring program in their local marine ecosystem.

Accelerating Ocean Acidification Sensor Development

Why we care
After nearly a decade, the NOAA Ocean Acidification Observing Network (NOA-ON) has reached the maturity level where a sustained effort to refresh its core technology, the Moored Autonomous pCO2 (MAPCO2), is necessary to maintain the current monitoring level. There is also the pressing need to develop technology to both improve the accuracy and reliability of the measurement of a second carbonate system parameter (dissolved inorganic carbon, DIC) in order to better measure and understand ocean acidification (OA). 

What we are doing
We will develop a modestly-priced, mass-producible, climate-quality surface ocean system that will measure 2 key parameters (pCO2, DIC) of the oceans carbonate (buffering) system. The system will be deployable on a variety of autonomous platforms and vehicles to meet the needs of both the ocean acidification and surface ocean carbon dioxide international observing networks. 

Benefits of our work
The NOA-ON network can sustain these important observations while adding the ability to autonomously observe the ocean with a measurement quality sufficient to detect long-term changes in ocean acidification. This is a priority task for NOA-ON, the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON) and others that cannot be accomplished with current technology. The pCO2-DIC sensor developed under this project will contribute towards better assessment of the vulnerability of U.S. waters to ocean acidification by providing access to real time information about the variability of OA, meeting the needs of several stakeholders in the marine resource community.