Ocean Acidification Instrumentation and Research Needs Workshop

Download the final report.


SRI International, Marine Technology Division, St. Petersburg FL
March 8-11, 2010

University of North Carolina Wilmington National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Florida Atlantic University

Sponsored By: NOAA Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research, and Technology (CIOERT)

Co-Organizers: Drs. Alina Szmant, Robert Whitehead, UNCW Center for Marine Science and Dr. Felipe Arzayus, Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, NOAA

Coordinators: Drs. Dennis Hanisak and Josh Voss, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, FAU

INVITATION/PURPOSE:

Title: New Instrumentation for Assessment of OA in Coral Ecosystems, and Modeling of Coral Calcification

Coral skeletons are composed of calcium carbonate, in particular aragonite. Image From: Veron, JEN, 1986. Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific. Univ. of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, HI. 644 pp.

Purpose: Much of the effort to date to develop instruments to study the process and progression of ocean acidification (OA) has been aimed towards high precision and sensitivity instruments designed to measure small changes in SW chemistry in low variability oceanic waters (e.g. MAP-CO2, MICA, SAMI, SEAS, several mass specs, etc). These efforts have been accomplished with only minor coordination by a number of investigators at academic, R&D and NOAA institutions, and with substantial funding by NSF, NOAA and other federal agencies. In spite of such effort, much remains to be done to produce instruments that are reliable and robust enough for prolonged deployments. Coral reef ecosystems are one of the most vulnerable to OA but also the most complex to understand in terms of biotic/seawater interactions. Large biomass of organisms on/within coral reefs respire (adding to localized OA), photosynthesize (potentially counteracting OA), and calcify at various rates in various sub-habitats creating a complex patchwork of interactions between metabolism and bulk ocean water chemistry that the calcifying organisms live within and have to deal with on a daily basis. As a result of this biotic metabolism, coral reef seawater chemistry is highly variable over short time and spatial scales, and thus the instruments needed to study effects of OA on coral reef systems may have different specifications that those needed for oceanic studies. For both ecosystems, an integrated, autonomous instrument package is needed that measures at least two of the seawater carbonate parameters, and preferably three of them. The 3 day workshop will be held to critically review the instrumentation needs and specifications of various types of OA research especially for coral reefs, strengths and weaknesses of existing technologies, on-going developments, and funding needs which would allow integration into an instrument suite applicable to mid to long term deployment on coral reefs.

Estimated aragonite saturation states of the surface ocean for the years 1765, 1995, 2040, and 2100, showing decreasing availability (From: Feely, R.A., J. Orr, V.J. Fabry, J.A. Kleypas, C.L. Sabine, and C. Langdon (in press) Present and future changes in seawater chemistry due to ocean acidification. AGU Monograph on “The Science and Technology of Carbon Sequestration”).

Concurrent with the instrument development efforts, a group of physiologists and cell biologists working on the mechanisms of coral calcification, ion transport and acid-base regulation will be meeting to develop an up-to-date mechanistic model of coral calcification, to identify the major information needs in order to predict coral calcification responses to OA. Coral reef ecosystems are one of the most vulnerable to OA but also the most complex to understand in terms of biotic/seawater interactions. Large biomass of organisms on/within coral reefs respire (adding to localized OA), photosynthesize (potentially counteracting OA), and calcify at various rates in various sub-habitats creating a complex patchwork of interactions between metabolism and bulk ocean water chemistry that the calcifying organisms live within and have to deal with on a daily basis. Thus corals may have evolved mechanisms to cope productively with moderate levels of acidification.

Expected Outcomes:

AGENDA

Day 1 Introductions and Plenary Presentations
12:00 - 1:00PMBox lunches in SRI conference room.
1:00 - 2:30PM:Alina Szmant, UNCW CIOERT — Welcome, introductions, and Comments Workshop logistics, conflicts of interest, intellectual property
 Felipe Arzayus, NOAA OER- New funding opportunities
2:00 - 2:50PM:Denis Allemand, Background/review of calcification mechanisms and responses related to OA
2:30 - 3:00PM:Richard Feely, NOAA PMEL Overview of NOAA Integrated Ocean Acidification Research Implementation Plan
2:50 - 3:05PMCoffee break
3:05 - 3:55PMAndrew Dickson, UCSD – Measurement requirements for carbonate chemistry parameters for different ecosystems and applications
3:55 - 4:45PMRob Whitehead, UNCW – Current efforts in OA measurements
4:45 - 5:30PMGroup discussion to outline needs for coral reef and coastal zone processes related to OA (parameters, accuracy, precision, time scales for measurements and deployments)
6:00 - 9:00PMWelcoming Reception location TBD
Day 2 Technology Status and Physiological Model
Physiological Group:Work on physiological model as a breakout group
Instrumentation Group:30 minute presentations and 15 minute discussion
9:00 - 10:00AMChris Sabine, NOAA PMEL, MAPCO2 case study of successful OA technology transition and other pCO2 instruments
10:00 - 10:15AMCoffee break
10:15 - 11:00AMMike DeGrandpre, U. Montana, Spectrophotometric pH systems
11:00 - 11:45AMKen Johnson, MBARI, ISFET pH systems
11:45 - 1:00PMLunch
1:00 - 1:45PMTodd Martz, UCSD, Flow through total alkalinity
1:45 - 2:30PMBob Byrne, UF, Flow through DIC
2:30 - 3:00PMCoffee break
3:00 - 3:45PMTim Short, SRI, Underwater mass spec.
3:45 - 5:00PMGroup discussion on additional new technologies and integrating instruments into a package. Update on progress on physiological model
5:00 - 6:00PMTour of SRI?
7:30PMGroup Dinner Cuban restaurant
Day 3 Break out groups, Roll Up Your Sleeves
9:00 - 10:45AMBreak-out groups to discuss Technology Readiness Levels for each of 4 carbonate chemistry parameters and how to close the gaps in capabilities.
10:45 - 11:00AMCoffee break
11:00 - 12:30PMContinue break-out groups, re-mix if necessary
12:30 - 1:30PMLunch
1:30 - 3:00PMReports from break-out groups
3:00 - 3:15PMCoffee Break
3:15 - 5:30PMGeneral Discussion
  • Brainstorming the roadmap to development of an integrated OA instrument suite
  • If we make it, will they come? Who are the potential users and how do we train them to use and maintain the instruments?
7:30PMGroup Dinner TBA
Day 4 Farewells, core group outline workshop report
9:00 - 11:00AMWrap up discussion and preparation of draft report; some participants leaving early

PARTICIPANTS

* Foreign Nationals

ExpertiseLast NameFirst NameAffilitationTelephoneEmail
PhysiologyAllemand*DenisInst Oceanogr Monaco011-33- 6- 80861382allemand@centrescientifique.mc
NOAA ProgramArzayusFelipeOER301-734-1003felipe.arzayus@noaa.gov
Chem/InstrByrneRobertUSF727-553-1508byrne@marine.usf.edu
Chem/InstrCamilliRichWHOI508-289-3796rcamilli@whoi.edu
PhysiologyCohenAnneWHOI919-567-2958acohen@whoi.edu
Field/MonitCorredor*JorgeUPRM787-899-2048j_corredor@cima.uprm.edu
Chem/InstrdeGrandpreMikeU of Montana406-243-4118michael.degrandpre@umontana.edu
Chem/InstrDicksonAndrewSIO858-822-2990adickson@ucsd.edu
PhysiologyEdgeSaraFAU/HB772-465-2400sedge@fau.edu
Chem/InstrFeelyRickPMEL206-526-6214richard.a.feely@noaa.gov
PhysiologyFurla*PaolaInst Oceanogr Monaco33 4 92 07 68 30paola.furla@unice.fr
Field/MonitGledhillDwightCIMAS301-734-1007dwight.gledhill@noaa.gov
PhysiologyHanisakDennisFAU/HB772-465-2400dhanisak@fau.edu
NOAA ProgramJewettLibbyNCCOS301-713-3338libby.jewett@noaa.gov
Chem/InstrJohnsonKenMBARI831-775-1985johnson@mbari.org
Chem/InstrKaltenbacherEricSRI Internat727-498-6732eric.kaltenbacher@sri.com
Chem/InstrManzelloDerekAOML305-361-4397derek.manzello@noaa.gov
Field/MonitMartensChrisUNC-Chapel Hill919-962-0152cmartens@email.unc.edu
Chem/InstrMartzToddUCSD Scripps858-534-7466trmartz@ucsd.edu
Chem/InstrMazelCharliePSICorp Inc978-738-8227mazel@psicorp.com
Chem/InstrMcGillisWadeLDGO/Columbia845-365-8562wrm2102@columbia.edu
PhysiologyMedina-Rosas*PedroUNCW910-962-2356pm1469@uncw.edu
Chem/InstMurphyBrianPSI978-738-8227 
Chem/InstrPierrotDenisAOML305-361-4441denis.pierrot@noaa.gov
Field/MonitRiesJustinUNC-Chapel Hill919-962-0269jries@email.unc.edu
Chem/InstrSabineChrisPMEL206-526-4809chris.sabine@noaa.gov
CIOERTShepardAndrewCIOERT/UNCW910-962-2446sheparda@uncw.edu
Chem/InstrShortTimSRI Internat727-498-6752tim.short@sri.com
PhysiologySzmantAlinaUNCW910-962-2362szmanta@uncw.edu
PhysiologyVossJoshFAU/HB772-465-2400jvoss2@fau.edu
Field/MonitWhiteheadRobUNCW910-962-2356whiteheadrf@uncw.edu
NOAA ProgramWoodleyCherylCharleston843-762-8862cheryl.woodley@noaa.gov

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