The European Mediterranean Sea Acidification in a changing climate (MedSeA) initiative is a project funded by the European Commission under Framework Program 7.  It involves 16 institutions from 10 countries.

MedSeA assesses uncertainties, risks and thresholds related to Mediterranean acidification at organismal, ecosystem and economical scales. It also emphasizes conveying the acquired scientific knowledge to a wider audience of reference users, while suggesting policy measures for adaptation and mitigation that will vary from one region to another.

In recent years the issue of ocean acidification has moved rapidly up the political, economic and social agendas and is especially pertinent when combined with other pressures upon the marine environment, such as increased seawater warming and oxygen loss, overfishing and proliferation of invasive species. The Mediterranean Sea is of special interest to ocean acidification research as it is a complex, semi-enclosed body of water with high environmental variability and natural CO₂ vents that may give scientists a window into a what a high CO₂ ocean may look like in the future.

To discuss and share knowledge about ocean acidification and climate change impacts on this dynamic marine environment, over 60 scientists from 12 countries, mainly from the Mediterranean region, met in Rome on 4th and 5th March 2012 for the first Annual Science Meeting of the EU-funded Mediterranean Sea Acidification in a Changing Climate (MedSeA) project. (more…)

There is little doubt that the ocean is undergoing dramatic changes that will impact many human lives now and ever more so in the coming generations, unless we act quickly and decisively. Previous acidification events in the Earth’s geological record were often associated with extinctions of many species. Whilst the causes of such extinction episodes are complex, it is notable that the biodiversity recovery took hundreds of thousands and, after mass extinctions, millions of years.

This briefing paper from the International Ocean Acidification Reference User Group provides essential information and highlights the actions needed on ocean acidification by Governments at Rio+20. (more…)

CO2 is causing our oceans to acidify at rates not seen for last 20 million years; business as usual scenarios for CO2
emissions will lead to increases in ocean acidity by 2050 with potentially dramatic effects on marine life, including
socioeconomic. This side event will address the other CO2 problem.

Date: 8 December 2011, 18.30-20.00

Venue: Durban Exhibition Centre, Apies River room (more…)

A team of marine experts is helping predict the future of coastal ecosystems after discovering that warming temperatures may exacerbate ocean acidification.

In a paper published in full by Nature Climate Change magazine this month, the scientists warn that rapidly deteriorating Mediterranean coastal ecosystems are further threatened by increasing CO₂ levels.

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