First OA Buoy in Alaska Waters
PMEL collaborates with University of Alaska Fairbanks to study OA in Alaska
High-latitude oceans are sentinel regions for signs of ocean acidification. Corrosive waters reach shallow depths and so impacts of ocean acidification on marine calcifiers will likely occur earlier there than in many other regions. PMEL and partners at University of Alaska, Fairbanks, deployed the first ocean acidification buoy in Alaska waters in May 2011 to study carbon cycling in high latitude regions. The buoy, located in the northern Gulf of Alaska at the mouth of Resurrection Bay, will help us develop a better understanding of the natural variability in carbon system parameters like pH and pCO2 and provide some new insights and understanding of ocean acidification in a high latitude coastal sea.
