About the Project
The Institute for Natural Resources (INR) worked with the California Ocean Science Trust (CalOST) to convene an expert panel to advance decision-makers’ understanding of the drivers and impacts of ocean acidification and hypoxia.
The panel synthesized and interpreted knowledge from this scientifically diverse and rapidly evolving field of research, and identified research and monitoring priorities critical to the West Coast's future.
CalOST and INR guided and supported the panel using their expertise in understanding manager needs and facilitating cross-disciplinary groups. Together CalOST and INR served as the link between the panel and state, regional and federal decision-makers by providing the management and policy context for ocean acidification and hypoxia.
About the Panelists: Interdisciplinary Expertise for Science Integration
The Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Panel represents a core team of experts from California, Oregon and Washington. Some are specifically ocean acidification or hypoxia experts, while others bring broader research perspectives, including knowledge of the role of science in policy and management.
Panel Chairs
Alexandria Boehm, Stanford University
Francis Chan - Oregon State University
Panelists
Jack Barth - Oregon State University
Elizabeth Chornesky - Independent Consultant
Andrew Dickson - Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego
Richard Feely - NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
Burke Hales - Oregon State University
Tessa Hill - University of California Davis
Gretchen Hofmann - University of California Santa Barbara
Terrie Klinger - University of Washington
Debby Ianson - Institute for Ocean Sciences, British Columbia
John Largier - University of California Davis
Jan Newton - University of Washington
George Somero - Stanford University, Hopkins Marine Station
Martha Sutula - Southern California Coastal Water Research Project
Waldo Wakefield - Oregon State University, NW Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries
George Waldbusser - Oregon State University
Steve Weisberg - Southern California Coastal Water Research Project
Liz Whiteman - California Ocean Science Trust
Staffing of the Oregon scientists was supported by the Oregon Governor’s Office, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, and the Oregon State University Research Office.
In the News
NPR interview with Panelist Burke Hales: “A Science 'A-Team' Focuses On Ocean Acidity” (July 17, 2015)
OSU Study Explains How Even A Little Ocean Acidification Can Kill Baby Oysters (OPB, July 12, 2013)
Panel Products
Available
Working Group Publications
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Ocean acidification science needs for natural resource managers of the North American west coast (Boehm et al. 2015)
Technical White Papers
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Multiple stressor considerations: ocean acidification in a deoxygenating ocean and warming climate (West Coast OAH Science Panel, July 2015)
Decision-Maker Resources
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Ocean acidification and hypoxia: envisioning a future science landscape (Ocean Science Trust, February 2015)
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Ocean acidification and hypoxia: today’s need for a coast-wide approach (Ocean Science Trust, October 2014)
Other Informational Resources
- December 11, 2013 letter about ocean acidification, Pacific Coast collaborative actions, and needs from federal partners. Written to President Obama and Prime Minister Harper from the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington and the premier of British Columbia.
Background Information about Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia from Oregon Sea Grant
- Magazine features: The Summer 2013 issue of Confluence, Sea Grant's online magazine, focused on ocean acidification.
- Overview article: Ocean acidification: Canary in a Coal Mine (originally appeared in Terra Magazine)
- Sea Grant-funded research:
- Understanding, Forecasting and Communicating the Linkages Between Hypoxia and Ocean Acidification in Oregon's Coastal Oceans
- A developmental and energetic basis linking larval oyster shell formation to acidification sensitivity (G. Waldbusser, et al); journal article from Sea Grant-funded research.
Media Stories on Ocean Acidification in Oregon Waters
- Ocean acidification, the lesser-known twin of climate change, threatens to scramble marine life on a scale almost too big to fathom (Seattle Times, September 11, 2013)
- Study Links Raised Carbon Dioxide Levels to Oyster Die-Offs (New York Times, April 12, 2012)
- Ocean Acidification (OPB Oregon Field Guide, February 18, 2010)
- OSU scientists think ocean acidity could harm shellfish (KGW News, August 3, 2010)
- Ocean Acidification Hits Northwest Oyster Farms (ABC News, April 22, 2010)
- Oysters in deep trouble: Is Pacific Ocean's chemistry killing sea life? (Seattle Times, June 14, 2009)
Media Stories on Hypoxia in Oregon Waters
- Hypoxia Research Video (Partnership for Interdisciplinary Study of Coastal Oceans, February 12, 2011)
- Oceanography: Dead in the water (Nature, August 11, 2010)
- Dead Zone Update (OPB Oregon Field Guide, March 18, 2010)
- Dead Zones, Mysteries of Ocean Die-offs Revealed (National Science Foundation, 2010)
- Growing low-oxygen zones in oceans worry scientists (McClatchy, March 7, 2010)
- Summer dead zones off Oregon coast here to stay, OSU researchers say (Oregonian, October 8, 2008)