You are invited to The Causes and Consequences of a Warming Ocean on Thursday, July 29 — the third in a series on climate-induced ocean changes. Our speakers include:
- Dr. Hillary Scannell, a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, on “Drivers and mechanisms of marine heatwaves in the Northwest Atlantic“
- Dr. Andrew Pershing, Director of Climate Science at Climate Central, on “Impacts of ocean temperature extremes on northeast ecosystems and economic”
Join us on July 29th at 9:30 am as we continue to explore how a changing climate is impacting the ocean water of the North Atlantic. “Scientists estimate that the oceans have absorbed more than 90 percent of the heat trapped by excess greenhouse gases since mid-century . . . This excess heat is increasing not only baseline ocean temperatures but also the frequency and duration of marine heat waves,” (New York Times, March 4, 2019).
Please register in advance of the webinar at https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/3380567658244280336. This webinar series is being co-sponsored by NOAA’s Eastern Region Climate Team, the Mid-Atlantic Committee on the Ocean (MACO) and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Association of Coastal and Ocean Observing Systems (MARACOOS).
Join BOEM online as industry subject matter experts discuss updates to offshore wind and maritime activities that have occurred since the 2018 Offshore Wind and Maritime Industry Knowledge Exchange, share how past recommendations and approaches were incorporated in offshore wind and marine transportation co-existence, and continue discussing measures to minimize risk to safety and disruptions to maritime transportation operations while supporting the development of domestic renewable energy.
REGISTER for the upcoming webinar – August 19 – Marine Spatial Planning for the Maritime Sector
In person at the Westin Annapolis (100 Westgate Circle Annapolis, MD 21401) and online via Webex webinar.
This meeting will be conducted as a hybrid meeting. Council members, other meeting participants, and members of the public will have the option to participate in person at the Westin Annapolis or virtually via Webex webinar. Both virtual attendees and those attending the meeting in person will use the “raise hand” function in Webex to comment, ask questions, make motions, and vote. We are recommending that all in-person attendees either be vaccinated or receive a negative COVID test prior to meeting attendance. We are also encouraging attendees to wear a mask when moving around the hotel and meeting space.
Webinar Information
The virtual portion of the meeting will be conducted via Webex webinar. No pre-registration is required. The webinar link will be the same for all four meeting days.
-
Click here to join the webinar (if prompted, enter meeting number: 2330 933 4966; Meeting password: ncKMj56xX6p)
-
Join by phone: For those who will not be joining the webinar but would like to listen in to the audio portion only, dial 1-415-655-0001 and enter access code: 2330 933 4966#). When asked for your attendee ID, enter #. Participants connected by phone only will need to enter *6 on their keypad to unmute/mute themselves and *3 to raise/lower their hands.
-
Need Help? If you need technical assistance, please check the Webex Participant Guide. For further assistance, contact Mary Sabo at msabo@mafmc.org or 302-518-1143 (call or text).
We will also be live streaming the meeting to our YouTube channel.
Ocean acidification has subtle and complicated effects on fish because it often affects only the earliest life stages and interacts with other stressors. This project pulled together several types of data from multistressor experiments on Atlantic silversides, an abundant fish along the East Coast, to model their energy budget throughout the life cycle. Using Dynamic Energy Budget theory (DEB) we are able to incorporate different effects at each life stage to reflect the increased tolerance adults have relative to embryos and larvae. Energy budgets can help us test hypotheses about how energy is allocated to needs like homeostasis and reproduction under acidification, and ultimately estimate population-level effects.
Using Gene Silencing to Validate the Role of Perlucin Gene in Oyster Resilience to Ocean Acidification
Caroline Schwaner, Stony Brook University
We previously investigated the molecular mechanisms associated with resilience to ocean acidification in Crassostrea virginica. There were significant differences in SNP and gene expression profiles among oysters reared under normal and OA conditions. Both of these approaches showed similar results, particularly in genes related to biomineralization, including perlucin. In this study, we used RNAi or gene silencing to validate findings and confirm the protective role of perlucin associated with resilience to OA. Silenced oysters under acidification stress were the smallest, had shell abnormalities, and had significantly reduced shell mineralization, thereby indicating that perlucin does help larvae mitigate the effect of OA.
Impacts of extreme events on carbonate system variability in the York River Estuary: a numerical model study
Fei Da, Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Better understanding the carbonate system variability during extreme events will help predict future changes and provide critical information for the local shellfish aquaculture industry. In this study, a coupled hydrodynamic-biogeochemical 3-D high-resolution model is used to investigate the primary controls of the carbonate system in a small sub-estuary of the Chesapeake Bay: the York River Estuary. Net horizontal advection, air-sea CO2 flux, and net community production all play crucial roles in controlling dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and pH, while total alkalinity is relatively conservative. During extreme high discharge events, pH reductions are associated with net heterotrophy and net advection of high DIC upstream water, with increased outgassing playing a counteracting role.
Influence of water quality history on future ocean acidification tolerance in larval eastern oysters in Chesapeake Bay
Anthony Himes, Virginia Institute of Marine Science
One species of calcifying organisms that could be pushed beyond their physiological limits due to future acidification is the eastern oyster, C. virginica, which provides the basis for an expanding aquaculture industry. Previous studies have shown that oyster larvae are negatively impacted by acidification, but less is known about what level of acidification initiates a stress response and how well larvae can modulate these mechanisms. Additionally, little is known about potential differences in stress tolerance among different oyster populations. Therefore, larvae were compared between two different reefs within Chesapeake Bay to assess the hypothesis that reefs exposed to lower salinity conditions will be more tolerant to future acidification due to overlap in the cellular mechanisms responsible for osmoregulation and acid-base regulation.
Development and applications of pH glider technology in the Mid-Atlantic Bight
Liza Wright-Fairbanks, Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, NOAA OAP
Currently, productive coastal systems lack vertically-resolved high-resolution ocean carbonate system measurements on timescales relevant to organism ecology and life history. To address this issue, a newly developed deep ISFET (Ion Sensitive Field Effect Transistor)-based pH sensor system was modified and integrated into a Slocum G2 profiling glider. From Spring 2018 to Fall 2019, seasonal pH glider deployments were conducted in Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissima) and Atlantic sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) commercial management zones in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. Here, we present seasonal cycles and drivers of carbonate chemistry in the Mid-Atlantic Bight based on seasonal glider deployments. Additionally, we discuss the use of glider data in conjunction with larval dispersal models to identify times and locations where shellfish stock may be at high risk of acidification.
Over the past year, East Coast fishery management bodies have been collaborating on a climate change scenario planning initiative designed to prepare fishing communities and fishery managers for an era of climate change. The goals of this project are to assess how climate change might affect stock distribution and availability of East Coast marine fisheries over the next 20 years and to identify the implications for fishery management and governance.
In June 2022, a group of about 70 stakeholders attended a workshop to develop an initial set of scenarios, describing several different possible futures facing East Coast fisheries out to 2042. As the next step in the scenario planning process, two Scenario Deepening webinars will be held in August 2022. These webinars will offer all interested stakeholders an opportunity to review, validate, and add details to the draft scenarios.
Webinar Details
Each 2-hour session will begin with an overview of the outputs and stories from the draft scenarios. Participants will then have an opportunity to add comments and suggestions to make the scenarios more plausible, challenging, relevant, memorable, and divergent. For each scenario, participants will be encouraged to imagine specific examples about impacts to particular species, regions, and communities. Participants only need to attend one of the two webinars. Please use the links below to register:
- Wednesday, August 17, 2022, 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, August 23, 2022, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
The scenario creation workshop summary, including a description of the draft scenarios, is being developed and will be posted here once available. Participants are encouraged to review this summary before the webinars and come prepared to share comments on the specific scenarios.
Once again, stakeholder involvement is key, and these webinars are open to the public. The outcome of the two webinars will be a more detailed set of scenarios that will be used as a platform for later stages of the process, looking specifically at how fishery management and governance must change to be prepared for a future of climate change.
Learn More
Additional information is available on the Climate Change Scenario Planning Web Page and in the Introductory brochure.
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact a core team member.
The Mid-Atlantic Committee on the Ocean (MACO) will convene its fifth annual Mid-Atlantic Ocean Forum on May 17 and 18 in New York City, with virtual participation options available. The Forum gathers ocean professionals and stakeholders representing federal and state agencies, Tribal entities, marine industries, nonprofit research and advocacy organizations, and the public.
The event will feature expert panel discussions on ocean planning topics including climate-ocean action, offshore wind energy in the Mid-Atlantic, conservation efforts in the region, ocean justice issues, sustainable ocean economies and much more. A poster session will also highlight the work of students and early career professionals.
CLICK HERE for further details on the event website.