As ocean acidification threatens the West Coast, a quest to stop it
Urgent action must be taken to avoid devastating consequences to the North American West Coast as a result of global carbon dioxide emissions, a panel of scientific experts has warned.
The panel, which convened in 2013 and reported its findings Monday, found that 鈥溾�� were impacting ocean chemistry along the West Coast, and a coordinated regional management strategy would be required to counter the threat.
A crucial characteristic of this report is that it was commissioned by decisionmakers, who approached the scientific community and asked for their insight, and, in that spirit, the report comes with warnings, but also outlines solutions.
鈥淲hen we went into this, the last thing we wanted was another report from 20 scientists about something bad happening to the world鈥檚 oceans,鈥� says the panel鈥檚 co-chair, Francis Chan of Oregon State University, in a telephone interview with 海角大神.
鈥淭his is an incredible opportunity for science: we have a seat at the table, so let鈥檚 make the most of it.鈥�
What, exactly, is happening that requires such immediate action?
As human activities pump ever-greater quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, our ocean waters absorb that gas, which results in ocean acidification.
Burning fossil fuels 鈥� as well as agricultural runoff and wastewater treatment effluent 鈥� can also cause 鈥渉ypoxia鈥�, defined as 鈥溾��.
The North American West Coast is particularly exposed to rising levels of seawater acidity due to聽the operation of ocean currents.
In contemplating the effects of ocean acidification, Dr. Chan explains that, if we do nothing, there will still be ecosystems in the future, but 鈥渢hey might not be the kind we would prefer鈥�.
鈥淭he scenario is that we鈥檒l see a food web that鈥檚 radically different to today鈥檚, and it won鈥檛 be able to support the kind of fish we value as a society,鈥� says Chan.
Take sea butterflies, a kind of swimming snail: some of the panelists working with these creatures in Washington state see their shells dissolving as the waters become more acidic. If nothing changes, they will likely not survive.
Leaving aside whether sea butterflies deserve protection in their own right, it turns out they provide humans an invaluable service, by feeding salmon and a host of other fish that humans, in turn, consume.
And what of the proposals presented by the scientists, should policy makers decide that action needs to be taken?
鈥淭he number of solutions we have to combat ocean acidification is directly proportional to the amount of knowledge we have,鈥� says Chan. 鈥淭he recommendations we have put forward are really about growing that knowledge so we can grow our tools.鈥�
An example is the planting of seagrass, an organism with 鈥渁mazing properties鈥�: this plant absorbs carbon dioxide, uses it to produce more seagrass and changes the very chemistry of the water around it, reducing the impact of ocean acidification.
Yet even this solution, which Chan rates as having a high chance of success, may not work everywhere. Every stretch of coastline, every kind of habitat, may respond best to different treatments: there is no one silver bullet.
But Chan remains 鈥渧ery optimistic鈥�.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 really kept us going is the receptivity of the decisionmakers at the state level,鈥� says the professor. 鈥淭he governor has a clear interest in working with us, and legislators also want to know, 鈥榃hat are the things we can do, right now?鈥�.鈥澛�
