Marine Chemical Speciation (MarChemSpec)

The MarChemSpec software package (see https://marchemspec.org) can be used to calculate chemical speciation in natural waters containing the ions present in seawater. MarChemSpec is not restricted to standard seawater composition, unlike CO2SYS and similar software. Thus carbonate equilibria, for example, can be calculated for natural waters with any major ion composition, and the same is true for the complexation of the trace metals that are the focus of GEOTRACES. The model results include estimated uncertainties.

Applications of MarChemSpec include not just the calculations of equilibrium concentrations, activities, and values of the four CO2 seawater variables (pHT, total alkalinity, total dissolved inorganic carbon, and pCO2) but also saturation with respect to solid phases.

Examples include various carbonate solids and alkalinity-enhancing minerals of interest in marine CO2 reduction (mCDR) studies. The chemical components included in MarChemSpec are:

• Seawater electrolyte (H+ , Na+ , Mg2+, Ca2+, K+ , Sr2+, Cl- , SO4 2- /HSO4 - , Br- , F- /HF, B(OH)3/B(OH)4 - , CO2/HCO3 - /CO3 2-
• Trace metal cations Mn2+, Fe2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Cd2+, Pb2+, Al3+, Fe3+

International CO2 Natural Analogues (ICONA) Network

The International CO2 Natural Analogues (ICONA) network aims to facilitate innovative research on the ecosystem-level effects of ocean acidification using natural analogues from temperate, sub-tropical and tropical regions and foster the discovery and use of natural analogues suitable for ocean acidification research.

Efficient dissemination of the findings will allow for the development of adaptive management strategies to mitigate the impacts of rapidly changing ocean conditions. These goals will be achieved through the organisation of workshops, symposiums and joint expeditions to natural analogues for ocean acidification research.

ICONA experts will collaborate with local communities and stakeholders to ensure that their perspective is incorporated when investigating the effects of OA on marine ecosystems.

Using natural analogues allows us to predict the response of marine ecosystems to ocean acidification and climate change, including the expected changes to functioning, goods and services, and better understand the mechanisms of resilience. The research conducted by the ICONA network opens the way to nature-based solutions to restore, protect and conserve marine ecosystems facing climate change and ocean acidification. The outputs will be disseminated and shared to the scientific communities, stakeholders and general public.

CE2COAST

Human-made global change will have significant impacts at regional and coastal scales on marine systems. dependent socioeconomies and ocean services. These can strongly interact with regional and local human-activity induces pressures such as fishing, pollution, and eutrophication.

ACCASP-Ocean Chemistry working group at Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)

The ACCASP-Ocean Chemistry is a working group at Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).

Our goals include:

• To provide the state of ocean acidification (OA) in Canadian waters from the coastal to open oceans
• To investigate the controlling mechanisms of OA
• To understand biological/ecosystem responses to OA
• To predict future changes through modelling

C-SCOPE in Action

C-SCOPE, the joint project this Decade Project is based on, aims to enhance marine carbon observation, by:

• Using Ship-of-Opportunity (SOOP) lines to measure the CO2 uptake capacities
• Connecting BGC-Argo and surface measurements of SOOP lines to explore synergies for better observational data products
• Assessing the structural dimension of marine CO2 observations and their implications in order to develop a concept for Open Ocean Science

Enhancing Accessibility of OA Reference Materials

Ocean acidification (OA) is expected to affect all nations through its influence on living marine resources. To understand ocean carbonate chemistry, seawater samples must be measured in two or more ways (ex. total dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity).

Ocean Acidification in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Ocean acidification (OA) is particularly important in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL) due to high river runoff and high primary production that is routed towards the deep layer where it is remineralized to dissolved inorganic carbon, increasing pCO2 and lowering pH and calcium carbonate saturations (omega).

Lavoie et al. showed higher acidification occurring in the estuary, at mid-depth in the northwest GSL and on the Magdalen Shallows, with large daily and seasonal variability. Many marine species are negatively impacted by OA conditions. OA thresholds are highly species-specific and duration-dependent. Monitoring provides information on actual OA conditions but not on their duration.

Marine Ecosystem Stressors in the Arctic

Using traditional knowledge and climate model downscaling to assess impacts on the marine ecosystem and subsistence fisheries, the project aims at providing improved understanding of how oceanographic processes in the Arctic impact marine ecosystems, including abundance, distribution and patterns of phytoplankton and fish assemblages in a changing climate.

Integrated Climate Vulnerability Assessments

In order to enable marine resiliency and continued food provisioning under global change, there is a need to explicitly include multiple climate change drivers in fisheries management.

This project aligns with the UN Ocean Decade goals of developing regional ocean acidification risks, adaptation actions and management strategies for commercial species and reliant peoples for food, economies or traditional practices.

The American lobster supports the dominant fishery of the Northwest Atlantic with critical socioeconomic importance to Canada and the United States. The overall objective of this project is to develop an American lobster climate vulnerability assessment open-access tool incorporating recently available climate exposure, sensitivity data (including social, economic, cultural and institutional indices), fisheries and habitat models through this transboundary multidisciplinary collaboration, that will facilitate climate considerations in fisheries management and regional adaptation planning.

Canadian Arctic Biochemistry Observing Networks

In combination with improved observations and modelling, data from annual time series of ocean carbon chemistry in the Canadian Arctic support the development of adaptation strategies to minimise negative impacts and maximise positive outcomes resulting from the human-induced transformation of the Canadian Arctic.

Canadian Ocean Acidification Community of Practice

Ocean acidification is an issue that has been gathering interest over the past decade. This interest resulted in the formation of the Canadian Ocean Acidification Community of Practice. The Community of Practice is an interdisciplinary group dedicated to sharing information and resources related to ocean acidification. Our diverse membership consists of individuals from government, aquaculture, fisheries, academia, and Indigenous community leadership, as well as students and members of the public.

Our goals are to connect and coordinate across all sectors, disciplines, and regions to share expertise, data, and resources, identify pressing needs for ocean acidification research and knowledge and create a collaborative and supportive environment for groups affected by ocean acidification. We strive to achieve these goals by providing a space for discussion and co-production of ocean acidification knowledge across Canada.

British Columbia OAH Action Plans

In 2019, the Province of British Columbia (BC) completed a Preliminary Strategic Climate Risk Assessment that identified ocean acidification’s potential impact on fisheries and aquaculture as a climate risk in need of further assessment. The BC Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia (OAH) Action Plan is underway to address this need by developing strategies to better understand, mitigate, and adapt to the impacts of OAH on fisheries and aquaculture sectors and dependent coastal communities.

Phase 1 of the plan is bringing together expert and community input through a series of virtual workshops designed to establish the state of knowledge related to OAH in BC’s coastal waters, capture perspectives from harvesters, seafood producers, and coastal communities, and determine adaptation and mitigation practices and policies that may reduce vulnerability to OAH. Phase two of the project will implement actions that enhance collaboration, understanding, and awareness of OAH in BC’s coastal waters.

Understanding and Addressing Ocean Acidification and Changing Ocean Conditions Through the Development of OA Action Plans

The International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification (OA Alliance) is a voluntary initiative of governments and non-government members representing nearly 300 million people and 366,414 kilometres of coastline.

Members of the OA Alliance include a wide diversity of national, state, municipal, and sovereign Tribal, indigenous, and First Nation governments along with many dedicated affiliate partners like NGOs, seafood industry leaders, and local academia. Through the Alliance, they are exploring and promoting efforts that increase biodiversity, adaptive capacity, and resilience by translating knowledge into policy actions by national, regional and subnational governments.