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Cultivating Seaweeds To Mitigate Ocean Acidification And Generate Habitat, Fertilizer, Food, And Fuel For Activities Performed May 22, 2015 - December 15, 2019
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2020
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Series: WSG-TR ; 20-03
[PDF-11.11 MB]
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Description:In Puget Sound, where the effects of ocean acidification threaten important marine resources, there is a heightened need for investigating mitigation actions. Corrosive conditions associated with acidification are already impacting some calcifiers such as pteropods, crab, and foraminifera1, and laboratory studies further suggest that oysters, crabs, krill, and salmon are also sensitive to the effects of acidification. These species are not only important to the health of the marine ecosystem, but some are highly valued culturally and economically as well. According to the Governor’s Office, in the coming decades, as seawater absorbs increasing amounts of dissolved carbon dioxide, conditions in Washington waters are expected to worsen, with changes occurring “more rapidly in Puget Sound waters than along our coast.” In the face of these deteriorating conditions, we are confronted with many questions, one of which is: what can we do locally - in the water - to ameliorate the effects of acidification? The investigation described in this report sought an answer to that question. Thus began an investigation into whether seaweed cultivation could draw down CO2 within the kelp farm and improve conditions for calcifying species. The field study was conducted at a five-acre seaweed and shellfish farm operated by HCM, located off Hood Head, just north of the Hood Canal Bridge in Jefferson County, Washington. After acquiring the necessary permits, propagating kelp seed, and outplanting sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima), the team measured the effect of kelp on several metrics of seawater chemistry and on a small suite of calcifying organisms within the kelp farm. Additionally, the team developed a computer model that simulates environmental variables and kelp growth, and then integrates the sampling data into an interface that graphically depicts the effect of kelp cultivation on seawater chemistry. Combined funding from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and the U.S. Navy enabled two years of field investigation at the Hood Head demonstration site. Overall, the project was conducted 2015–2019 to test key early actions identified by the Washington State Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification.
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Sea Grant Document Number:WASHU-T-20-003
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Rights Information:Public Domain
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