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 22 institutions (including 6 associated partners) from 12 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.

On the 2nd of May 2013 the MedSeA oceanographic cruise along the Mediterranean Sea departed from Cadiz. The major campaign objective is to conduct a comprehensive water column sampling from each of the basins of the Mediterranean Sea.  There will be sediment core sampling, plankton tows and aereosol collectors. The cruise has two legs: from Cadiz to Heraklion and from Heraklion to Barcelona (May 2, 2013 – June 2 – 2013). We will also deploy 4 bioArgo floats.  The MedSeA campaign is also part of an international program GEOTRACES that aims to characterize and study the seawater dissolved elements.

The MedSeA oceanographic cruise is supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN). We will sail with the research vessel Ángeles Alvariño of the Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEC).

Please, visit the MedSeA oceanographic cruise blog for more information.

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 Heraklion, hosted by the Hellenic Centre of Marine Research, on 5th and 6th March 2013 for the 2nd Annual Science Meeting.

A joint mesocosm experiment will take place in February/March 2013 in the bay of Villefranche, near the Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche (LOV; http://www.obs-vlfr.fr/LOV/). Nine mesocosms (52 m³) will be deployed over a 30 days period and 6 different levels of pCO₂ and 3 control mesocosms (~ 400 μatm), will be used, in order to cover the range of pCO₂ anticipated for the end of the present century. During this experiment, the potential effects of these perturbations on chemistry, planktonic community composition and dynamics including: eucaryotic and prokaryotic species composition, primary production, nutrient and carbon utilization, calcification, diazotrophic nitrogen fixation, organic matter exudation and composition, micro-layer composition and biogas production will be studied by a group of 20-25 scientists from 8 institutes and 6 countries. (more…)

For the first time the story of ocean acidification can now be viewed on a special tour created by Google using Google Earth. Narrated by Dan Laffoley (International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN, and MRUG member) the video takes the viewer around the planet to understand what ocean acidification is, see some of the latest research into it and hear about how the consequences of ocean acidification are already being felt by the multimillion dollar shellfish industry in the USA. Experts including MedSeA scientists feature in the video in order to further explain ocean acidification.
 
To find out more, please click here.

MARES is a three-year world-class Joint Doctoral Programme offered by a consortium of 23 partner institutions (11 full partners and 12 associated members) originating from 14 countries. The MARES PhD Subject Catalogue 2012 has been published on September 24th 2012.

Please direct applications and queries through the website.

Ocean Acidification and Climate Change are threatening coastal organisms, aquaculture and fisheries . A Multidisciplinary Team Approach is required to evaluate these impacts and to understand the mechanisms and physiological processes behind these impacts. The lack of multidisciplinary team work, especially in Asia, is limitating ability to understand these diverse climate change associated impacts.

Jason Hall-Spencer is attending this symposium 11-14 December in Hong Kong to present MedSeA results and share his experience.

More information: please see here.

 A MedSeA team of Israeli and Italian scientists concluded a survey of vermetid reefs along the Mediterranean coast of Israel that took place form the 6th to the 10th of July. Vermetid reefs are considered hot spots of biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea. These reefs are built by two species of sessile snails cemented by calcareous red algae, serving as ecosystem engineering species, for a rich community of invertebrates and fish. Furthermore, these reefs have an important role in protecting the shoreline from physical erosion.

The team inspected the abundance of the engineering species in 10 sites along 150 km of the Israeli coast, finding that the primary builder of the reef margins, the gastropod Dendropoma petraeum, has recently got extinct, while its associated calcareous algae Neogoniolithon brassica-florida flourishes, taking up the space previously occupied by the snails.

(more…)

The Stareso Mesocosm Experiment takes place from June 4th to July 22nd at the Stareso Station. The station is located near Calvi (North West of Corsica) in a wild area. A blog has been set up to follow the day to day evolution of the experiment.

(more…)

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…)