Research Priorities Reports
2004 Cicerone et al., 2004
2008 Orr et al., 2009
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JGR-Oceans 2005
Biogeosciences (discussions)
Articles
Oceanography Magazine (2004)
EOS Magazine (2004)
IGBP Newsletter (April 2009)
Oceanography Magazine (2009, in prep.)
Summary for Policymakers 2009
low res (1.4MB); high res (7MB)
The Monaco Declaration (pdf 5Mb)
UNESCO Press Release (English)
UNESCO Press Release (French)
UNESCO Press Release (Spanish)
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Symposia Abstract Books
2004
2008
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2004
2008
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IGBP 2008
UNESCO-IOC 2008 english
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Ocean Acidification Summary for Policymakers 2009.
Downloads: low resolution (1.4MB) | high resolution (7MB)
Print copies may be obtained by sending an email to: comms@igbp.kva.se
The ocean absorbs approximately one-fourth of the CO2 added to the atmosphere from human activities each year, greatly reducing the impact of this greenhouse gas on climate. When CO2 dissolves in seawater, carbonic acid is formed. This phenomenon, called ocean acidification, is decreasing the ability of many marine organisms to build their shells and skeletal structure. Field studies suggest that impacts of acidification on some major marine calcifiers may already be detectable, and naturally high-CO2 marine environments exhibit major shifts in marine ecosystems following trends expected from laboratory experiments. Yet the full impact of ocean acidification and how these impacts may propogate through marine ecosystems and affect fisheries remains largely unknown.
About the Symposia
In May 2004, the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (UNESCO-IOC) co-hosted an international symposium, “The Ocean in a High-CO2 World”, to evaluate what is known about these issues. This symposium brought together 120 of the world’s leading scientists from 18 countries with expertise from different branches of marine biology, chemistry and physics to piece together what is known about the impacts of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems, and to identify urgent research priorities to understand the mechanisms, magnitude and time scale of these impacts.
Following this symposium, several national and international organizations requested SCOR and the IOC to keep this issue under review, and the governing bodies of SCOR and the IOC agreed to make this symposium a regular event to be held every 4 years.
The 2nd symposium on “The Ocean in a High-CO2 World” was held on 6-9 October 2008 at the Oceanography Museum of Monaco under the High Patronage of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II. The meeting brought together 220 scientists from 32 countries to assess what is known about ocean acidification impacts on marine chemistry and ecosystems. The symposium was sponsored by SCOR, IOC-UNESCO, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Marine Environmental Laboratory and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, and supported by the Prince Albert II Foundation, the Centre Scientifique de Monaco, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, and the North Pacific Marine Science Organization.
