This virtual seminar will explore how calcium carbonate shells and shelly habitats are increasingly recognized as potential mitigation approaches for localized acidification effects, yet very little is known about the alkalinity and geochemical properties of intact oyster reefs. This research team collected cores of restored oyster reefs in Harris Creek, MD and measured alkalinity fluxes under controlled conditions, and sacrificed several cores for solid and fluid phase chemistry. The combined effects of a significant amount of calcium carbonate shells with anaerobic metabolism appear to be key in ensuring preservation of the reef shell core. In other words, a healthy population of live oysters generating biodeposits appears to be crucial to shell persistence in these otherwise thermodynamically marginal conditions for calcium carbonate preservation.

Register here: https://noaabroadcast.adobeconnect.com/harriscreek/event/registration.html 

This virtual seminar will focus coupled a comprehensive measurement program to retrospective and future model simulations to quantify controls on estuarine acidification in Chesapeake Bay,a large estuarine complex with strong gradients of salinity, oxygen, metabolicrates, and bathymetry. Researched found that estuarine acidification may be even more complex (and interesting!) than originally posited, owing to self-buffering processes within macrophyte communities, connections of acidification rates to watershed management aimed at oxygen improvements, and a varying buffering of acidification through altered carbonate chemistry within freshwater sources. This new understanding presents both challenges and opportunities to managing future acidification along the coast.

 Please register at: https://noaabroadcast.adobeconnect.com/testa/event/registration.html

The Ocean Acidification Program is soliciting proposals for collaborative projects of up to 3 years in duration that synthesize ocean acidification information at a regional scale (e.g. Large Marine Ecosystem, large estuary or collection of small estuaries, and state or collection of states in US waters) to determine where societal vulnerabilities to ocean acidification exist or are emerging, in order to provide actionable information for marine resource decision makers. This funding opportunity will not support the collection of new chemical or ecological observations or species response data. Social science data collection is permitted.

Information about this opportunity can be found here:https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=11.017 This grant is Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-OAR-OAP-2020-2006333.  Email Letters of Intent to erica.h.ombres@noaa.gov. Full proposals should be submitted through grants.gov

Important dates:  Letters of Intent are due January 24th and full proposals are due March 27th. 

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