What are New York and the surrounding region doing about ocean acidification?
There is a wide variety of ways that governments, organizations, schools, and citizens are responding to ocean acidification. Many scientists from universities and government agencies are working to learn more about how ocean acidification occurs and what impacts it has on marine life. Researchers are also focused on bringing the economic consequences to light, particularly for the shellfish industry.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) supports a number of ocean acidification projects, including efforts to monitor the water chemistry both with stationary buoys and moorings, and through mobile research cruises and gliders. For example, the First Landing OA buoy (left), installed in the Chesapeake Bay in April 2018, takes daily carbon dioxide and pH measurements.
Federal, state, and local governments in recent years have been working to compile available information from ocean acidification experts to guide government actions. In the interest of the greater good, the objective is to enact policies that minimize the harmful changes to ocean chemistry that occur and help stakeholders such as shellfish growers to adapt to whatever changes can’t be prevented. Read on below to learn more about specific efforts in New York State to prepare for ocean acidification.
The New York State Ocean Acidification Task Force
The New York State Ocean Acidification Task Force is a team of science, policy, and industry experts from around the state. The Task Force will work to provide the best information available to policymakers who decide how to respond to the ocean’s changing chemistry.
Mission statement: To assess the impacts of ocean acidification on the ecological, economic, and social well-being of the State of New York in order to recommend actions to reduce these impacts.
New Yorkers depends on the ocean for food, recreation, and much more. But greenhouse gas emissions combined with polluted runoff from land are acidifying the coastal waters and threatening marine resources. The Task Force’s main purpose is to write a report for the state government that assesses current knowledge about ocean acidification in New York and makes recommendations for action to mitigate and adapt to acidification. In the process of composing its report, the Task Force will convene for several meetings aimed at compiling existing knowledge and discussing priorities for monitoring, mitigation, and adaptation. These meetings are open to the public, and you can find the details on the Ocean Acidification Task Force website.
Ocean Indicator Monitoring by DEC & Stony Brook University
In the fall of 2017 the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) at Stony Brook began an ocean monitoring project with the DEC to collect data on the R/V Seawolf in the New York Bight. The goal of the project is to begin a baseline record of physical, chemical, and biological conditions in the shelf waters off of Long Island so that future changes can be detected. The project began after a stakeholder workshop in August 2016 determined a set of potential indicators of ocean health. The data collection by SoMAS will further refine these ecological indicators and use them to understand the current state of the ocean. The project includes carbonate chemistry data collection so that acidification can be tracked in high spatial resolution for the waters off of New York. To read more about the project, visit the Ocean Monitoring page on the DEC website.
The Center for Clean Water Technology
The Center for Clean Water Technology (CCWT) is a New York State-funded initiative based at Stony Brook University that is working on innovative ways to keep the groundwater and marine environment free of pollutants. In an effort to reduce nitrogen pollution in the coastal waters of Long Island, the CCWT is in the process of developing on-site household wastewater treatment systems that can be installed right in homeowners’ backyards. The systems would replace cesspools and add the step of a nitrogen-removing biofilter, a large filter of sand and woodchips in which a special community of microbes consumes the nitrogen from household wastewater. Nitrogen is partially responsible for local acidification events when it fuels algal blooms, some of which produce harmful toxins.
New York State Ocean Action Plan
The New York Ocean Action Plan, released in 2017, is aimed at improving the health of the ocean around New York and promoting sustainable use of marine resources. The plan includes a list of specific actions and the various institutions that will be involved in completing them. Action Number 15 is to “Monitor ocean acidification and investigate the impacts of ocean acidification on shellfish and crustaceans”. So far the government has responded by creating the Ocean Acidification Task Force, which will issue recommendations for specific actions for the state government. Read more about the Ocean Action Plan on the DEC website.
Photo of First Landing Ocean Acidification Buoy: NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory.
Photo of Jamaica Bay with Manhattan skyline: Panoramio user olekinderhook via Wikimedia Commons.
What can YOU do about ocean acidification?
✓ Limit your carbon footprint: Just like climate change, ocean acidification is caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Using mass transit, converting to renewable energy, and eating less meat are just a few ways to reduce emissions.
✓ Use less fertilizer: Nitrogen from fertilizer trickles into coastal waters, causing algal blooms and acidified water. Try allowing hardier grasses and plants to grow instead.
✓ Eat sustainable seafood: Overharvesting makes the situation even worse for species that are threatened by ocean acidification. Research the sources of your seafood before purchasing – often the more local it is, the better!