The NOAA Ocean Acidification Program announces five projects selected for funding through the Ocean Acidification Coastal Research: Uniting Investigations and Shipboard Experiments (OA CRUISE) opportunity. Aimed at expanding observing and experimental capacity of oceanographic research cruises, selected proposals will receive funds and ship time to conduct companion projects aboard two upcoming cruises. Projects will commence on the 2025 West Coast Ocean Acidification Cruise (WCOA-2025) and/or 2025 Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem and Carbon Cruise (GOMECC-5). These projects provide additional capacity level 1 research activities, which are required “core” activities for each mission. These level 2 (highly advantageous activities recommended with resource availability) and level 3 (not to interfere with other priorities) research projects supplement level 1 research. The addition of this work will better address regionally relevant objectives as outlined in the NOAA Ocean, Coastal, and Great Lakes Research Plan: 2020-2029.
Goals include to better understand changes in ocean chemistry attributed to both human activities and natural changes and to identify and track marine biological measurements that can be linked to ocean acidification. Some primary objectives of the selected projects are to assess if pteropods, important marine snails in food webs, can be used as biological indicators of ocean acidification. Both cruises will also include additional rigorous water chemistry sampling to best understand the coastal carbonate system and sensitivity of waters to changes in carbon dioxide. Lastly, understanding how ocean chemistry impacts phytoplankton and zooplankton that support food webs or cause harmful algal blooms.
Constraining Coastal CO2 Systems – Direct Spectrophotometric pH, Ca ion and Organic TA Measurements During WCOA and GOMECC Cruises
Dr. Robert Byrne, University of South Florida
Dr. Sherwood Liu, University of South Florida
Cruises: GOMECC-5 and WCOA-2025
Researchers from the University of South Florida will embark on both WCOA and GOMECC in the summer of 2025 to carry out core and additional cruise science priorities (levels 1-3). The work will provide climate-quality measurements of pH, a measure of the ocean’s acidity, at all stations and sampling depths throughout both cruises. This measurement is critical to fully constraining the ocean carbonate system. Additionally, the team will collect samples for calcium and organic matter in areas experiencing greater acidification, including the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River outflows, the San Francisco Bay Estuary, and the Columbia River outflow. These freshwater-influenced regions require additional measurements like calcium and organic alkalinity to fully understand the state of the chemistry and drivers of change.
Development of gene expression indicators of ocean acidification stress in pteropods (Limacina helicina) in the California Current
Dr. Zack Gold, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
Matthew Galaska, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
Angela Sremba, Oregon State University CIMERS
Jennifer Fisher, NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center
Nina Bednaršek, Oregon State University CIMERS
Cruise: WCOA-2025
Researchers from NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory will survey tiny ocean animals to understand the biological impacts of ocean acidification on the WCOA cruise in the summer of 2025. The team will capture microscopic marine snails called pteropods that have an important role in the food web. First, they will collect samples by towing fine-mesh nets from the ship at 24 stations along the cruise track and sort the pteropods from the samples. Importantly, the team will carry out genetic analyses to help develop our understanding of pteropods as a biological indicator of ocean acidification on the west coast. Additionally, they will preserve some pteropods for future analysis of the condition of their shells using high-powered microscopes on land. Bringing together chemical and biological measurements aids in our understanding of the ocean as a system.
Zooplankton and ichthyoplankton community structure and organic matter flow during GOMECC-5: Partitioning the variability due to OA and other environmental drivers
Dr. Sharon Herzka, University of Texas at Austin
Cruise: GOMECC-5
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin will survey microscopic ocean animals to understand the impact of ocean acidification on their populations in the Gulf of Mexico during the 2025 GOMECC. Using fine-mesh nets, the team will capture a range of zooplankton on each transect carried out on GOMECC. They will investigate biomass, zooplankton abundance, and community structure, with special emphasis on counting the abundance of small marine snails called pteropods that are important species in the food web. Additionally, they will run analyses on the carbon and nitrogen content of the zooplankton to determine their nutritional quality. These tests will help determine if pteropods or other zooplankton can be used as biological indicators of ocean acidification in the Gulf of Mexico.
Augmenting and Expanding Shipboard Capacity on NOAA Coastal Ocean Acidification Cruises
Dr. Chris Hunt, University of New Hampshire
Kai Ziervogel, University of New Hampshire
Cruises: GOMECC-5 and WCOA-2025
Researchers from the University of New Hampshire will investigate surface, subsurface, and bottom water chemistry and biological processes on the GOMECC cruise during the summer of 2025. The team will set up and run an underway total alkalinity analyzer throughout the cruise to help determine how sensitive the ocean’s surface water is to changes in carbon dioxide. They will also collect water samples to run experiments on net community respiration, which tells us about the amount of carbon being released into the ocean by organisms living in the water. This team from UNH will also bring on board an instrument called a Lander, which “lands” on the ocean floor and allows researchers to collect water samples at the very bottom of the sea. Researchers will test these samples for Level 1 core OA parameters and net community respiration. Bottom water sampling is difficult to do with traditional sampling methods, so the Lander fills a gap in our understanding of full water column chemistry. In addition to their work on GOMECC, this team will provide an underway total alkalinity analyzer for the WCOA cruise.
Characterizing plankton dynamics on GOMECC-5 to improve understanding of regional OA impacts on ecosystem productivity, food webs, and carbon export in the Gulf of Mexico
Dr. Beth Stauffer, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Dr. Astrid Schnetzer, North Carolina State University
Cruise: GOMECC-5
A team led by scientists at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and North Carolina State University will study a range of phytoplankton, harmful algae, and biological processes on the GOMECC cruise in the summer of 2025. Researchers will collect water samples and filter them to determine concentrations of microscopic plant pigments as far as light reaches in the ocean. They will identify the types of tiny plants they collect, including looking for species that cause harmful algal bloom, which can have detrimental effects on important fisheries and human health.
Image: Researchers launch a CTD rosette for collecting water samples in the Gulf of Mexico on the GOMECC-3 research cruise. Credit: Joletta Silva, University of Miami-RSMAS
