pH Sensor Data Shows Some Organisms Experience Acidification Levels Not Predicted to be Seen Until 2100
Using data gathered from pH sensors, researchers have found that some areas of the ocean are already experiencing daily acidification levels that scientists had predicted would not be reached until 2100.

The study, conducted by 19 researchers from five research organizations, was published recently in PLoS One. The authors said the findings are an important step toward understanding how specific ecosystems are responding to the change in seawater chemistry that is being caused as the oceans take up extra CO₂ produced by human greenhouse gas emissions.

"These data represent a critical step in understanding the consequences of ocean change: the linkage of present-day pH exposures to organismal tolerance and how this translates into ecological change in marine ecosystems," the authors wrote.

As greenhouse gas emissions have accelerated in the past century, the oceans have taken up about a third of the CO₂ produced by human activities, leading to increasing amounts of carbonic acid in seawater. Acidification also limits the amount of carbonate forms that are needed by marine invertebrates such as coral and shelled organisms to form their skeletons. Though many lab simulations of this effect have been performed recently, there have been few comparable field studies.

The researchers used SeaFET and SeapHOx sensors, which were developed by marine chemistry researcher Todd Martz, to survey 15 ocean regions ranging from coral reefs in the South Pacific Ocean to volcanic CO₂ vent communities in the Mediterranean Sea. Capable of measuring pH and temperature in the top 70 meters of the ocean, the sensors are based on a modified Honeywell DuraFET ISFET pH sensor. SeapHOx contains additional integrated sensors: AADI's Oxygen Optode 3835 and Sea-Bird Electronics Inc.'s SBE-37. Since 2009, Martz's team has constructed 52 sensors, which have been used by 13 different research groups to study individual ecosystems.

The researchers found that in some places, such as Antarctica and the Line Islands of the south Pacific, the range of pH variance is much more limited than in areas of the California coast subject to large vertical movements of water known as upwellings.

"Our data show such huge variability in seawater pH both within and across marine ecosystems, making global predictions of the impacts of ocean acidification a big challenge," said Scripps marine biologist Jennifer Smith. "While these data suggest that marine organisms may be more adapted to fluctuations in pH than previously thought, much more research is needed to determine how individual species will respond over time."

Despite surveying 15 different ocean regions, the authors noted that they only made observations on coastal surface oceans and that more study is needed in deeper ocean regions farther away from land.

"The next challenge will be observing the pH of the entire ocean from top to bottom without using ships," Martz said. "I am really excited about the prospect of adding these sensors to mobile autonomous platforms like profiling floats, gliders and drifters. ... I think you can expect to see a pH sensor sending back data from an Argo-type profiling float at some point in 2012."

Caption: A pH sensor that was used in the study. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of California, San Diego)

Source: Scripps Institution of Oceanography press release

Department of Energy Gets $34 Million for MHK Research
U.S. President Barack Obama signed last Friday the fiscal year 2012 omnibus measure, which includes an energy and water bill that provides $34 million for marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) technology research.

Under the legislation, the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Water Power research and development program will receive $59 million, allocating $34 million to MHK development and $25 million to conventional hydropower. Within the total funding amount, at least $10 million will be used to build infrastructure, including environmental performance monitoring, at National Marine Renewable Energy Centers.

Sean O’Neill, president of the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition, applauded the bill. “The Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition recognizes the tireless work and support of the House and Senate appropriation committees to fund MHK research and development at a level that will contribute to promising achievements toward commercialization over the next year. We very much look forward to working with the Department of Energy, our member companies and universities to accelerate the technology development necessary to reach our goal of 15 gigawatts of installed ocean MHK energy by 2030.”

Source: OREC press release

Anti-Whaling Group Uses UAV to Locate Japanese Vessel
By deploying an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to track Japanese whaling vessels, the crew aboard a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship located the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru on Saturday. The UAV, named Nicole Montecalvo, is one of two donated to the society by Bayshore Recycling Corp. (Woodbridge, New Jersey).

Upon locating the Nisshin Maru, the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin began to pursue it but was blocked by three Japanese ships.

"This is going to be a long, hard pursuit from here to the coast of Antarctica," said Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd and captain of the Steve Irwin. "But thanks to these drones, we now have an advantage we have never had before—eyes in the sky."

The crew said that the UAVs can scan hundreds of miles and will also be helpful in countering the whaling vessels' tactic of tailing Sea Shepherd ships. The second UAV is equipped on another one of the society's vessels, the Bob Barker.

Tensions between Sea Shepherd and Japanese whaling vessels continue to escalate. Earlier this month, the Institute of Cetacean Research and Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha (Tokyo, Japan) said they filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Seattle, Washington, against Sea Shepherd society and Watson in an attempt to legally bar the activist group from further harassing Japanese whaling fleet.

Caption: Second Mate Peter Brown launches the UAV from the Steve Irwin.

Source: Sea Shepherd press release

NSF Awards Lockheed Martin
Contract to Support Arctic Program
The National Science Foundation (NSF) selected Lockheed Martin (Rockville, Maryland) for a multiyear contract worth up to $2 billion to operate and maintain the support infrastructure for the United States Antarctic Program, which enables universities, research institutions and federal agencies to conduct scientific research in the region.

Lockheed, which announced the contract on Wednesday, will work with NSF to implement infrastructure for managing work stations and medical facilities, research vessels, construction projects and remote sites in and around Antarctica. The corporation said it will also modernize technologies to transport scientists, staff and supplies to and from the Antarctic region.

NSF is the designated single-point manager of the program, providing funding for research in Antarctica as well as logistics and infrastructure needed by other federal agencies for their research there. The program goals of the Arctic Program include understanding the region and how its ecosystems depend on the polar environment; understanding its effects on (and responses to) global processes such as climate; and using it as a platform for fundamental research in every scientific discipline.

Source: Lockheed Martin press release

Deep Ocean Engineering ROVs to Get BlueView Sonar
Deep Ocean Engineering (San Jose, California) will resell BlueView Technologies' (Seattle, Washington) 2D and 3D products on its ROVs, the two companies announced after signing an agreement on Tuesday.

BlueView’s multibeam imaging sonar will expand Deep Ocean Engineering’s ROV navigation capabilities and operation in low- and zero-visibility conditions, the companies said.

“We have worked with BlueView for many years and now look to work even more closely with them to bring the most sophisticated ROV systems to the field,” said Bill Charbonneau, Deep Ocean Engineering sales manager.

Source: Blueview press release

OSIL Supplies Corers for Environmental Monitoring
Havant, England-based Ocean Scientific International Ltd. (OSIL) has recently completed two orders for sediment corers, including several box corers of various sizes, and two Mega Multiple corers. The corers are to be used off the coast of Brazil and in the South China Seas for long-term environmental monitoring, the company said.

The Box, Mega Box and Mini Box corers are deployed from a deck stand and are lowered on a specific no-load release, which activates after sediment penetration. The box is closed, top and bottom, by two closely fitting shovels, mounted on pivot arms. Removable weights allow the corers to be used in a wide range of sediment types, OSIL said. These corers are used for sampling in biological, chemical and geochemical applications, as the relatively large block of sediment provides a sizable sample.

The Mega Multiple Corer is designed to collect samples of surface sediments, including the sediment/water interface and overlying supernatant water. With a deployment rate of approximately 1 meter per second on the descent and a retrieval rate at winch speed, the Mega Multiple corers are ideal for rapid assessment work, OSIL said.

Source: OSIL press release