Project: Ocean Acidification, Hypoxia and Warming: Experimental Investigations into Compounded Effects of Global Change on Benthic Foraminifera

Acronym/Short Name:OA, Hypoxia and Warming
Project Duration:2012-09 - 2015-08
Geolocation:continental shelf off New England

Description

from the NSF award abstract:

The average sea surface temperature (SST) has increased over the last 100 years, rising atmospheric partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) is lowering the pH of the oceans, and the extent and intensity of low-oxygen bottom waters is growing, at least in certain regions. The biological impacts of these ongoing changes -- warming, acidification, and hypoxia -- have each been studied independently, but few studies have explored the possible interactions among these stressors.

This research, led by a scientist from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, studies the compounded effects of ocean acidification, hypoxia, and warming on an assemblage of benthic foraminifera collected from the continental shelf off New England. Foraminifera are an ideal organism for this work because they (1) are relatively small, allowing experimentation on statistically significant populations; (2) have both calcareous and non-calcareous representatives; (3) are relatively short-lived so experiments include a major portion of their life cycle; (4) include aerobes and anaerobes; and (5) provide a fossil record allowing comparisons across time. Laboratory culturing experiments will be used to determine the response of benthic foraminifera, in terms of survival and growth, to co-varying parameters of pH and oxygen, and to explore the influence of increased temperature on these responses. The researchers will examine the relative effects of higher pCO2, lower [O2], and higher temperature (T) on both calcareous and non-calcareous benthic foraminifera. In addition, they will examine the pre-Industrial benthic foraminiferal assemblage at the field site, and will compare that assemblage to those produced in the experiments under pre-Industrial (lower than current day) and elevated pCO2 levels.


DatasetLatest Version DateCurrent State
Globobulimina delta 13C and 18O isotopes from sediment cores collected on R/V Endeavor EN524 on the continental shelf off New England, May 2013 (OA, Hypoxia and Warming project)2017-01-19Final no updates expected
Foram community specimen length and width measurements from multi-stressor experiment (OA, Hypoxia and Warming project)2017-01-19Final no updates expected
Carbonate chemistry from Mud Patch porewater, from R/V Endeavor EN524 in the continental shelf off New England; 40.43 N 70.5 W from May 2013 (OA, Hypoxia and Warming project)2016-12-16Final no updates expected
Multistressor-experiment counts for foram propagule community (OA, Hypoxia and Warming project)2016-12-16Final no updates expected
DIC and alkalinity from Globobulimina dual stressor experiment (OA, Hypoxia and Warming project)2016-12-16Final no updates expected
Mud Patch sediment age dating with Lead-210 and Cesium-137 from R/V Endeavor EN524 in the continental shelf off New England; 40.43 N 70.5 W from May 2013 (OA, Hypoxia and Warming project)2016-12-16Final no updates expected
DIC and alkalinity from agglutinate experiment (OA, Hypoxia and Warming project)2016-12-16Final no updates expected
SEM micrographs of selected common Mud Patch benthic forams from R/V Endeavor EN524 in the continental shelf off New England; 40.43 N 70.5 W from May 2013 (OA, Hypoxia and Warming project)2016-12-16Final no updates expected
Benthic foraminiferal abundances of Mud Patch multicores from R/V Endeavor EN524 in the continental shelf off New England; 40.43 N 70.5 W from May 2013 (OA, Hypoxia and Warming project)2016-12-16Final no updates expected
DIC and alkalinity from propagule experiment (OA, Hypoxia and Warming project)2016-12-16Final no updates expected
Carbonate chemistry from Mud Patch bottom water, from R/V Endeavor EN524 in the continental shelf off New England; 40.43 N 70.5 W from May 2013 (OA, Hypoxia and Warming project)2016-12-15Final no updates expected
Globobulimina turgida counts from dual stressor experiment, collected on R/V Endeavor EN524 from Mud Patch, continental shelf off New England; 40.43 N 70.5 W, May 2013 (OA, Hypoxia and Warming project)2016-12-15Final no updates expected
CTD profile data from R/V Endeavor cruise EN524 along the continental shelf of New England in 2013 (OA, Hypoxia and Warming project)2013-06-18Final no updates expected
Niskin bottle data from R/V Endeavor cruise EN524 along the continental shelf of New England in 2013 (OA, Hypoxia and Warming project)2013-06-18Final no updates expected
Scientific sampling event log from R/V Endeavor cruise EN524 along the continental shelf of New England in 2013 (OA, Hypoxia and Warming project)2013-05-24Final with updates expected

People

Lead Principal Investigator: Joan M. Bernhard
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)

BCO-DMO Data Manager: Cynthia L. Chandler
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI BCO-DMO)

BCO-DMO Data Manager: Shannon Rauch
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI BCO-DMO)


Programs

Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability NSF-Wide Investment (SEES): Ocean Acidification (formerly CRI-OA) [SEES-OA]