Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
5.1.3.
Main research programs
Launched in May 2008, the
European Project on OCean
Acidification
(EPOCA), coordinated by CNRS-INSU, was the first
multinational research project on ocean acidification on a large scale
(32 partners from 10 European countries). Between its launch and end
in 2012, multiple national programs had been launched (BIOACID in
Germany, UKOA in the United Kingdom, less coordinated efforts in
China, Korea, Australia and New Zealand, Brazil and Chile, etc.) as
well as a second European project dedicated to the Mediterranean
(MedSeA). A US research effort is being developed and should be
launched in the coming years. A new call for proposals by the
European Commission was published in 2012, soliciting project
propositions where acidification is studied on a larger context,
including global warming and deoxygenation.
In response to the scientific community and the users of research as
well as the growing concerns of Member States of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an “Ocean Acidification
International Coordination Center (OA-ICC) was launched in 2012. It
is a project of the “Peaceful Uses Initiative” of the IAEA, which has
the goal of facilitating and promoting activities, such as the
development of an international observation network, the training of
young researchers, student exchanges, the creation of databases, etc.
5.2. Observations
Seawater carbonate chemistry has undergone large changes on a
geological scale as well as since the beginning of the Industrial
Revolution. This section aims to characterize not only the magnitude
of these changes, but also the rate at which they occurred.
5.2.1.
Past changes
One important note must be made before considering the question
of ancient episodes of ocean acidification: two parameters are
necessary for characterizing the carbonate chemistry. Overlooking this
