Strategic Plan for Federal Research and Monitoring of Ocean Acidification

Dear Partners and Friends in our ocean and coastal community,

Oceans provide vital resources and services for sustaining humankind including food, recreation, transportation, energy, nutrient cycling and climate moderation, and they substantially contribute to our economy. However, the chemistry of the oceans is changing in ways that will have impacts on these services and resources far into the future.

Recognizing the need for a comprehensive interagency plan to address the increasing impacts of ocean acidification, Congress passed the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2009 (FOARAM Act), which defines ocean acidification as “the decrease in pH of the Earth’s oceans and changes in ocean chemistry caused by chemical inputs from the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide.” Coastal and estuarine acidification, to the extent that the cause of the acidification can be traced back to anthropogenic atmospheric inputs to the ocean, are assumed to be covered by this Strategic Plan for Federal Research and Monitoring of Ocean Acidification (Strategic Plan) wherever ocean acidification is referenced.

The FOARAM Act called for the Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology (SOST) to establish an Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification (IWG-OA). The Act also explicitly called for developing a strategic research plan to guide “Federal research and monitoring on ocean acidification that will provide for an assessment of the impacts of ocean acidification on marine organisms and marine ecosystems and the development of adaption and mitigation strategies to conserve marine organisms and marine ecosystems.” Per requirements of the FOARAM, the original draft plan was open for public comment for two months and also was reviewed by the National Research Council. Edits to this plan were made to address comments that were received. Details about editing decisions are available upon request.

The IWG-OA was chartered in October 2009. These agencies have come together to provide a thoughtful, strategic approach to understand and address the rapidly emerging problem of ocean acidification. This plan is essential to guide federal ocean acidification investments and activities over the next decade and beyond. It will provide a better understanding of the process of ocean acidification, its effects on marine ecosystems, and the steps that must be taken to minimize harm from ocean acidification.

We organized the plan around the following seven priority areas 1) research, 2) monitoring, 3) modeling, 4) technology development, 5) socioeconomic impacts, 6) education and outreach and 7) data management. This plan is the result of a collaborative, thoughtful, and dedicated effort by a large number of people. My thanks goes out to all who contributed to this plan.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Jewett

Chair of the IWG-OA

Ned Cyr

Former Chair of the IWG-OA