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Ocean Acidification

Acidic water no surprise to shellfish growers
Results of a Puget Sound water chemistry study released last week by state and federal scientists confirmed what shellfish growers already fear: The water is turning more acidic.

Shellfish at risk: Puget Sound becoming acidified
Scientists from the University of Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned that the changing pH of the seas is hitting Puget Sound harder and faster than many other marine waters.

State’s most sophisticated buoy to sample for acidification, oxygen-starved waters

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Feely, R.A., S.R. Alin, J. Newton, C.L. Sabine, M. Warner, A. Devol, C. Krembs, and C. Maloy, "The combined effects of ocean acidification, mixing, and respiration on pH and carbonate saturation in an urbanized estuary," Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci., 88, 442-449, 2010.

Related Research at APL-UW:

Directly Measuring Ocean Acidification
A poster presentation by Robert H. Byrne and Sabine Mecking

Ocean acidification happens because on land we release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

That carbon dioxide comes back into the ocean. You have increased CO₂ in the water and the water simply becomes more corrosive. It permeates through the food chain all the way up to the upper levels.

The buoy is an APL product and there are NOAA sensors riding on the buoy. We’re measuring the pH, which tells us directly how acidic the water is becoming.

These buoys are going to give us real time data every single day on the condition — the health — of Puget Sound, Hood Canal, and the coast of Washington.