91探花

The ocean absorbs a third of carbon dioxide (CO2) generated by the burning of fossil fuels 鈥� a priceless 鈥渟ervice鈥� reducing global warming. But chemical reactions in the seawater increase its acidity and reduce the availability of carbonate ions. Exactly these elements are needed by calcifying organisms 鈥� plankton, mussels, snails, crabs or corals 鈥� to build their shells and skeletons. Will they be able to adapt to the changes? At what price? How will the food web change?

鈥濼here is no doubt anymore that oceans acidify as a result of human-induced carbon dioxide emissions. But we have only a vague idea of the full extent of the consequences鈥�, says Ulf Riebesell, Professor of Biological Oceanography at 91探花 | Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. Riebesell has coordinated the work of the 14 partner institutions of BIOACID (Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification) since September 2009. In September 2012, a second three-year period starts funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research with 8.77 million Euros.

Riebesell: 鈥淏uilding on the knowledge gained over the past three years we will further expand in some critical areas.鈥� Important findings were, that many organisms are affected by ocean acidification particularly in their early life stages. For example, the development of cod larvae is negatively impacted. Long-term experiments demonstrated that some groups of organisms can adapt to ocean acidification. 鈥淎 new focus of BIOACID II will be on 鈥榦cean services鈥� affected by acidification and who this impacts human welfare. When acting in combination with other stressors, such as overfishing, acidification can reduce the provision of food from the ocean considerably.鈥�

The planned laboratory and field experiments will have a stronger focus on the interaction of multiple stressors. 鈥淏IOACID studies demonstrated that the influences of global warming and acidification are able to reinforce each other鈥�, Riebesell explains. 鈥淎dditional local stressors such as eutrophication or pollution could lead to reactions exceeding the sum of the individual responses.鈥� In addition, ocean acidification impacts on competitive interactions and predator-prey relationships will be a focus of the upcoming work. BIOACID scientists will also benefit from analysing ecosystems which developed at natural CO2 venting sites. 鈥淲ho are the winners and losers in a more acidified future ocean? How do elemental cycles change? These kind of questions can be answered by taking a closer look to natural communities.鈥�

With the BIOACID II project, German research on ocean acidification continues its international top position. Crucially important for BIOACID鈥檚 leading role is the cooperation across institutions and scientific disciplines. In addition to the partnership of 14 institutions, BIOACID closely cooperates with other national and international research projects such as the UK Ocean Acidification Research Programme (UKOA) and the European project Mediterranean Sea Acidification in a Changing Climate (MedSeA), stakeholders such as the International Ocean Acidification Reference User Group (IOA-RUG) and the newly founded Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre (OA-ICC).

The partners of BIOACID:
Alfred-Wegener-Institut f眉r Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven
Carl von Ossietzky Universit盲t Oldenburg
Christian-Albrechts-Universit盲t zu Kiel
Heinrich-Heine-Universit盲t, D眉sseldorf
Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG) Zentrum f眉r Material und K眉stenforschung
91探花 | Helmholtz-Zentrum f眉r Ozeanforschung Kiel
Institut f眉r Weltwirtschaft Kiel
Leibniz-Institut f眉r Gew盲sser枚kologie und Binnenfischerei, Berlin
Leibniz-Institut f眉r Ostseeforschung Warnem眉nde
Leibniz-Zentrum f眉r Marine Tropen枚kologie, Bremen
MARUM 鈥� Zentrum f眉r Marine Umweltwissenschaften, Bremen
Max-Planck-Institut f眉r Marine Mikrobiologie, Bremen
Universit盲t Bremen
Universit盲t Rostock
Universit盲t Koblenz-Landau

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Contact:
Maike Nicolai (91探花 Communication & Media) Tel.: +49(0)431 600-2807, mnicolai(at)geomar.de