Acidification Impacts in the Puget Sound

SUMMARY:  Ocean acidification is an impact on the planet caused by rising carbon dioxide concentrations.  This talk explores why this is happening and what role the oceans play in our global carbon cycle.  After understanding what ocean acidification is, and what some of its implications for biology are, we will turn attention to the situation in Puget Sound and Washington’s waters.  Our knowledge on ocean acidification has grown thanks to both scientists and shellfish growers, working together to further define this phenomenon and its status.  Regional policy makers recognized this problem and are funding further research on ocean acidification to better understand its impacts in Washington. Some of the new research results from these efforts will be presented.

BIO:  Dr. Jan Newton is a Senior Principal Oceanographer with the Applied Physics Laboratory of the University of Washington, and affiliate faculty with the UW College of the Environment.  Jan is a biological oceanographer who studies multidisciplinary dynamics of Puget Sound and coastal Washington waters, including the effects from climate and humans on water properties. An appointee to the Washington Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification and the West Coast Panel on Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia, Jan is now co-Director of the Washington Ocean Acidification Center at the University of Washington and researching ocean acidification and its effects in local waters. Jan is the Executive Director of the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS), which is the regional association within the United States Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) for the Pacific Northwest U.S. Her work through NANOOS brings knowledge of ocean conditions to myriad stakeholders for their use in decision making.