Feely: "Ocean Acidification of the Northeastern Pacific Coastal Waters"

Start Date/Time: Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 2:30 PM
Location: NOAA-Montlake NWFSC Auditorium

Oceans and Human Health Joint NOAA/UW Autumn Quarter Seminar Series
(Tuesdays: 11/10, 12/1, 12/8, from 2:30-3:30pm.)

**NOTE: Photo ID is now required to enter the NWFSC (such as a student ID, state driver's license, etc.) All visitors must stop at the security guard station where a temporary visitor's pass will be issued. Please arrive early to allow for the security check to occur.

Maplink to NOAA:
http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/contact/map.cfm

Revised Autumn, 2009 Seminar Schedule of Events: http://depts.washington.edu/pnwh2o/news.html

Richard Feely

Senior Scientist-NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
Professor, University of Washington School of Oceanography

ABSTRACT:

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the most important “green-house” gases in the atmosphere affecting the radiative heat balance of the earth. As a direct result of the industrial and agricultural activities of humans over the past two centuries, atmospheric CO2 concentrations have increased by about 100 ppm. The atmospheric concentration of CO2 is now higher than experienced on Earth for at least the last 800,000 years, and is expected to continue to rise, leading to significant temperature increases in the atmosphere and oceans by the end of this century. The global oceans are the largest natural long-term reservoir for this excess heat and CO2, absorbing approximately 85% of the heat and 30% of the anthropogenic carbon released into the atmosphere since the beginning of the industrial era. Recent studies have demonstrated that both the temperature increases and the increased concentrations of CO2 in the oceans are causing significant changes in marine ecosystems. Many marine organisms are already affected by these anthropogenic stresses, including impacts due to ocean acidification. Recent studies have provided new findings that organisms growing in estuaries or in coastal upwelling zones such as those living near river mouths or along the continental shelf of west coast of the North America from Canada to Mexico may already be experiencing significant biological impacts resulting from the combined effects of freshwater input, coastal upwelling and ocean acidification. Dr. Feely will discuss the present and future implications of increased CO2 levels on the health of our ocean ecosystems and related ocean-based economies.

BIO:

Dr. Richard A. Feely is a Senior Scientist at the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle. He also holds an affiliate full professor faculty position at the University of Washington School of Oceanography. His major research areas are carbon cycling in the oceans and ocean acidification processes. He received a B.A. in chemistry from the University of St. Thomas, in St Paul, Minnesota in 1969. He then went onto Texas A&M University where he received both an M.S. degree in 1971 and a Ph.D. degree in 1974. Both of his post-graduate degrees were in chemical oceanography. He is the co-chair of the U.S. CLIVAR/CO2 Repeat Hydrography Program. He is also a member of the U.S. Science Steering Committees for the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program, the U.S. Ocean Carbon and Climate Change Program, and the U.S. Carbon and Biochemistry Program. He is a member of the American Geophysical Union, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Oceanography Society. Dr. Feely has authored more than 175 refereed research publications. He was awarded the Department of Commerce Gold Award in 2006 for his pioneering research on ocean acidification. In 2007, Dr. Feely was elected to be a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union.