By now we are used to the idea of seasonal weather forecasts - whether to expect an El Niño ski season, or an unusually warm summer. These same types of climate models are now being adapted to make seasonal forecasts for the region's coastal waters.

The fifth West Coast Ocean Acidification cruise in May–June 2016 will be the first coastal cruise to reoccupy study areas extending through the entire California Current System — from Baja California to British Columbia — since the first West Coast Carbon Cruise in 2007.

HUNDREDS of marine scientists from around the world are gathered in Hobart this week for the 4th International Oceans in High-CO2 World Symposium to discuss one of our planet’s most serious yet still vastly understudied threats to the ocean’s health, biodiversity and food security.

Held every four years and now for the first time in the Southern Hemisphere, the focus is on ocean acidification, where the ocean absorbs increasing amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Awards of $1.3 million this year, totaling $4.1 million over three years, will focus on understanding the combined effects of ocean acidification, low oxygen and nutrient pollution on economically and ecologically important species in coastal habitats.

It is clear that our ocean is becoming more acidic as a result of carbon dioxide seeping into open ocean surface waters. But closer to shore things become a bit murky, as other factors can also change the chemistry of coastal waters. In these waters which are home to many important marine organisms on which coastal communities rely, scientists will be working to shed light on the potential impacts of acidification and other stresses.

As in the oceans, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere could throw off water chemistry in large freshwater bodies like the Great Lakes, putting the food web at risk. But the science remains unsettled and, according to researchers, must be bolstered if we are to understand what increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide means for freshwater.