Outcome 1: Quality Data
The global science community will be equipped to provide the high quality, high quantity and high-resolution ocean acidification needed. To do this, we need to enable the scientific community to provide ocean acidification data and evidence of known quality via capacity development, mentoring of early career researchers, facilitating data sharing, growing regional collaborations, and increased communication through meetings and workshops, allowing for a holistic analysis considering all stakeholder perspectives.
POC: Elise Keister, secretariat@goa-on.org
Co-Champions
Nico Lange
NORCE Norwegian Research Centre
"Collecting, analysing, and providing high-quality data addressing ocean acidification is neither easy nor cheap. Ensuring that all observational efforts align with stakeholder needs and have a sustainable impact is therefore imperative. Addressing this challenge, it is crucial to encourage and enable all scientific communities to generate data with known quality that is comparable and follows the FAIR data principles. Only by achieving such high-quality data across the diverse set of observations, we establish a truly holistic and fit-for-purpose ocean acidification observing system."
Carla Berghoff
National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP)
"Our goal is to ensure that every piece of data collected meaningfully contributes to addressing ocean acidification. Key to enhancing our global capabilities to deliver actionable, high-quality data by 2030 is to focus on capacity building efforts, fostering regional collaboration, and encouraging robust data sharing. This cannot be achieved without empowering diverse scientific communities, narrowing the gap between developed and developing nations, and deepening our understanding in regions with significant variability in carbon chemistry and trends in ocean acidification, such as the Southwestern Atlantic. Achieving this OARS outcome is essential for bolstering our collective ability to anticipate and respond to shifts in ocean chemistry."
Outcome 2: Science to Action
Specific data and evidence needed for mitigation and adaptation strategies, from local to global, will be clearly identified and provided. To do this, we need to identify data and evidence needs for mitigation and adaptation strategies, from local to global, by 2022. Communicate these needs to the scientific and science policy community to ensure that science is prioritized.
POC: Katherina Schoo, secretariat@goa-on.org
Co-Champions
Richard Bellerby
Climate and Oceans, NIVA, Bergen, Norway & SKLEC-NIVA Centre, ECNU Shanghai, China
"For ocean knowledge to be used it has to be relevant and understood. To this end, data has to be gathered and interpreted in partnership and under the premises of the user. Together, we will advance action for societal mitigation and adaptation to ocean acidification."
Jessie Turner
International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification (OA Alliance)
"People tend to assume reducing carbon is the only thing we can do to address OA. It’s true that reducing carbon emissions is the #1 action we can take to curb the rate of ocean acidification. However, there are actions that governments and institutions can and should be taking now to gain a better understanding of local and regional change—which will help guide the most impactful local adaptation and resilience building strategies."
Outcome 3: Observing Strategies
Long-term ocean observing systems will be co-designed and implemented by scientists, funders and end-user partnerships. To do this, we need to co-design and implement observation strategies in collaboration with data/information producers and end-users by 2025. Identify factors limiting collection of data and implementation of solutions and collaborate with OARS outcome 1 activities to ameliorate and amend the identified issues. Proactively design and implement observation strategies to ensure vulnerable areas are adequately monitored. Provide ocean acidification baseline information for newly developed carbon removal strategies.
POC: Elise Keister, secretariat@goa-on.org
Co-Champions
Jose Martin Hernandez Ayon
Autonomous University of Baja California
"An important challenge that we have in this outcome is to achieve significant advances in capacities, infrastructure, and adequate monitoring, especially in countries that have difficulties in their economies, inconsistencies in their methodologies, and in those countries that are known to have vulnerable areas."
Véronique Garçon
Laboratory of Space Geophysical and Oceanographic Studies (LEGOS), Toulouse, France
"What is exciting about the outcome is the co-design. We are used to setting up scientific questions, formulating and testing hypotheses, and carrying out the work. In the UN Decade, we need to be transformative, meaning that we have to think a bit differently. We need to envision the whole value chain; this means identifying stakeholders, investors, end-users, and co-building with them the questions, identifying what are the potential factors limiting the collection of data or implementation of solutions, and ultimately deliver the relevant data and solutions. And this is a major challenge."
Outcome 4: Biological Impacts
The risks and severity of ocean acidification impacts on marine organisms and ecosystems will be better understood and used to support the protection of marine life. To do this, we need to increase understanding of ocean acidification impacts to protect marine life by 2030. Implement biological observation within ocean acidification monitoring, providing the possibility to improve predictions of vulnerability and resilience to ocean acidification at all temporal and spatial scales.
POC: Katherina Schoo, secretariat@goa-on.org
Co-Champions
Sam Dupont
University of Gothenburg
"Outcome 4 is truly central in OARS as understanding the impact of acidification on marine ecosystems is necessary if we want to protect the ocean and develop solutions to minimize future impacts. Together, we will work to develop and implement solutions to protect future marine ecosystems and bridge science to society."
Carla Edworthy
Nelson Mandela University, South Africa
"The response of marine organisms to future ocean acidification is one of the aspects that has the most direct and comprehendable impact on humans, both locally and on a global scale. Understanding the impacts that ocean acidification will have on our biological marine resources and associated ecosystem services is central to plan our response and encourage collective action."
Outcome 5: Future Projections
Societally relevant predictions of the impacts of ocean acidification will be freely available To do this, we need to provide appropriate data and information necessary to the development of societally relevant predictions and projections, employing new technologies such as digital twins, for all ocean 'users' of the impacts of ocean acidification to implement adaptation and mitigation by 2030.
POC: Katherina Schoo, secretariat@goa-on.org
Co-Champions
Samantha Siedlecki
University of Connecticut
Siedlecki focuses on coastal regions where she implements numerical simulations to investigate and identify processes within that environment responsible for the biogeochemical dynamics in both the modern and future ocean, exploring regional climate projections of ocean conditions.
Richard Bellerby
Climate and Oceans, NIVA, Bergen, Norway & SKLEC-NIVA Centre, ECNU Shanghai, China
"To increase the utility of ocean data, we need to generate trust in the science behind ocean acidification and increase accessibility of high quality ocean forecasts tailormade for the consumer."
Outcome 6: Public Awareness
The public will be more ocean acidification literate, aware of its causes and impacts. To do this, we need to increase public awareness of ocean acidification, its sources, and impacts, achieved via ocean literacy and public outreach.
POC: Amy Kenworthy, ake@pml.ac.uk
Co-Champions
Abed El Rahman Hassoun
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
"We cannot protect our ocean and its resources from what we do not understand! Ocean acidification literacy is key to increasing awareness about ocean acidification among various types of communities (public, stakeholders and eventually policymakers) in order to mobilize them to take action at individual and collective levels, and at national, regional and international scales."
Yolanda Sanchez
Latin American Marine Educators Network (RELATO)
Yolanda is co-founder of the Latin American Marine Educators Network, Fund Engagement Manager for OCEAN Grants, and a member of Ocean Literacy With All and Edinburgh University Ocean Leaders. She's a dedicated advocate for ocean conservation through ocean literacy, leadership, networking, community engagement and participatory dynamics. With extensive experience across universities, NGOs, governments, and local communities she has been involved in projects in Latin America, Africa and Europe. She aims to enhance education methodologies and design marine education initiatives prioritizing ocean connections and community empowerment, inspiring leaders to champion ocean conservation.
Outcome 7: Policy Engagement
Countries and regions will routinely include measures to reduce ocean acidification in their respective national legislation. To do this, we need to develop strategies and solutions to enable countries and regions to include measures to reduce ocean acidification in their respective policy and legislation.
POC: Amy Kenworthy, ake@pml.ac.uk
Co-Champions
Jessie Turner
International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification (OA Alliance)
"People tend to assume reducing carbon is the only thing we can do to address OA. It’s true that reducing carbon emissions is the #1 action we can take to curb the rate of ocean acidification. However, there are actions that governments and institutions can and should be taking now to gain a better understanding of local and regional change—which will help guide the most impactful local adaptation and resilience building strategies."
Punyasloke Bhadury
IISER Kolkata
