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With increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, the extent of effects
on the ocean and marine resources is an increasing concern. One aspect of this issue is the
potential for seawater to become less alkaline (i.e., ocean acidification) as more CO2 dissolves in
seawater, causing hydrogen ion concentration in seawater to increase. Scientists are concerned
that increasing hydrogen ion concentration could result in reduced growth or even death of shell-
forming animals (e.g., corals, molluscs, and certain planktonic organisms) as well as disruption of
marine food webs and reproductive physiology. Congress is beginning to focus attention on better
understanding ocean acidification and determining how it might be addressed.
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Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
What Is Ocean Acidification?.......................................................................................................... 1
At What Rate Is Ocean Acidification Occurring and What Factors Affect This Rate? ................... 1
What Are Some of the Potential Effects of Ocean Acidification?................................................... 3
What Are the Natural and Human Responses That Might Limit or Reduce Ocean
Acidification? ............................................................................................................................... 6
What Is the Federal Government Doing About Ocean Acidification? ............................................ 7
What Is the Congressional Interest in Ocean Acidification? ........................................................... 8
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Author Contact Information ............................................................................................................ 9
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On January 30, 2009, a Monaco Declaration, signed by more than 150 marine scientists from 26
countries, called for immediate action by policymakers to reduce carbon dioxide emissions so as
to avoid widespread and severe damage to marine ecosystems from ocean acidification.1 The
Monaco Declaration is based on the Research Priorities Report developed by participants in an
October 2008 second international symposium on “The Ocean in a High-CO2 World,”2 organized
by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the Scientific Committee on
Oceanic Research, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the International Geosphere
Biosphere Programme.
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As increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere dissolves in seawater, seawater
chemistry is altered. The prevailing pH of surface ocean water is around 8.1, or slightly alkaline.3
Ocean acidification is the name given to the process whereby pH decreases as seawater becomes
more acidic (i.e., less alkaline) when increasing amounts of anthropogenic CO2 from the
atmosphere dissolve in seawater to form carbonic acid. Scientists are concerned that increasing
acidity could alter biogeochemical cycles, disrupt physiological processes of marine organisms,
and detrimentally alter marine ecosystems.
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Of the approximately 7 billion metric tons of carbon that all the countries in the world release as
CO2 into the atmosphere each year, the oceans take up about 2 billion tons.4 Between pre-
industrial times and 1994, average surface ocean pH is estimated to have decreased (i.e., acidity
increased) by almost 0.1 pH unit.5 That increase sounds small, but it represents an increase of
26% in the concentration of hydrogen ions, because the pH scale is logarithmic (i.e., a pH of 7 is
10 times more acidic than a pH of 8, and 100 times more acidic than a pH of 9). Up to a point, as
atmospheric CO2 continues to increase, the oceans will continue to become more acidic; one
1 A copy of this declaration is available at http://scrippsnews.ucsd.edu/Releases/doc/MonacoDeclaration.pdf.
2 The full report is available at http://ioc3.unesco.org/oanet/Symposium2008/
ResearchPrioritiesReport_OceanHighCO2WorldII.pdf.
3 The pH scale is an inverse logarithmic representation of hydrogen proton (H+) concentration, indicating the activity
of hydrogen ions (or their equivalent) in the solution. A pH of less than 7.0 is considered acidic, while a pH greater
than 7.0 is considered basic (alkaline); a pH level of 7.0 is defined as “neutral.”
4 Dr. Richard A. Feely, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce, World Ocean Forum, Nov. 13-14, 2006, at http://www.thew2o.net/events/oceans/
oa_q_and_a.php.
5 James C. Orr et al., “Anthropogenic Ocean Acidification over the Twenty-First Century and Its Impact on Calcifying
Organisms,” Nature, vol. 437 (2005): 681-686.
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estimate suggests that the rate of CO2 uptake by the oceans could stabilize at around 5 gigatons
per year by 2100.6
Key scientific questions concern which factors may affect the future rate of acidification,
especially whether the rate of increase will remain constant in direct relationship to the amount of
CO2 in the atmosphere or whether other factors will result in an acceleration or deceleration of
this acidification rate. There is also the question of equilibrium—that is, how long it might take
the acidification process of ocean waters, should the current atmospheric emission rate of CO2
remain constant, to come into equilibrium with the concentration of atmospheric CO2. An adjunct
to this question is how long it might take the rate of ocean acidification to slow (or decrease) in
response to any measures that might be taken to slow, halt, or even reverse the increasing
concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. Additional questions relate to how ocean circulation,
which eventually controls CO2 uptake rate, might change in response to rising temperatures
caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
All gases, such as CO2, are less soluble with increasing water temperature. Thus, marine waters
near the poles have a much greater capacity for dissolving CO2 than do ocean waters in the
tropics. In addition, dissolved CO2 also is transported into ocean depths at these high latitudes
(i.e., deep water formation mechanism) since the lower-temperature waters are of higher density,
causing greater convection to occur than happens in the more stratified tropical oceans. If
temperature were the only factor affecting the rate of ocean acidification and the appearance of
impacts on physical and biological features, these impacts might be more likely to occur in
marine waters nearer the poles. However, in addition to temperature, other factors modulate the
impact of CO2 on marine waters. Respiration adds CO2 to seawater, and photosynthesis removes
it. Deep oceanic water is enriched in CO2 due to respiration in the absence of photosynthesis and,
when brought to the surface by equatorial currents, can place CO2-enriched seawater in contact
with the atmosphere where it can absorb even more CO2. Hence, the tropics are also vulnerable to
near-term effects, most notably tropical reefs. An additional factor is the potential increase in
storm activity at higher latitudes as some climate models suggest.7 CO2 and other acidic gasses
such as nitrogen dioxide are also dissolved in rainwater.8 An increase in North Atlantic or western
North Pacific storms could have significant implications for accelerating acidification of the
oceanic surface layer in those regions.
Several negative feedback mechanisms also act to moderate the process of acidification. The less
alkaline the ocean becomes, the less CO2 will be taken up by dissolution. In addition, the warmer
the seawater becomes, the less CO2 will dissolve. Speculative questions exist related to what
might occur should the oceans reach an equilibrium in their ability to take up CO2 and
atmospheric CO2 levels continue to increase.
6 David Archer, “Fate of Fossil Fuel CO2 in Geologic Time,” Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 110 (2005): C09S05,
doi:10.1029/2004JC002625.
7 See the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Technical Paper on Climate Change and Water, available at
http://www.ipcc.ch/meetings/session28/executive_summary.pdf.
8 Rainwater is naturally acidic at a pH of around 5.6, and downwind of pollution sources has been measured as low as
pH 3.0.
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Since the marine environment is complex and some of the likely changes may be years in the
future, the potential effects identified in this section, although many are supported by laboratory
experimentation, are primarily conjecture and/or forecasts. However, field studies are beginning
to provide a more direct view of potential ocean acidification problems.9
Even with increasing concentrations of atmospheric CO2, the oceans are not likely to reach pH
values of less than 7 (neutral). But as CO2 dissolves into the ocean’s surface waters, it changes the
proportions of ions available to marine organisms who make biogenic calcium carbonate to form
shells and skeletons. As more CO2 dissolves into the surface ocean, not only are some organisms
hindered in their ability to make calcium carbonate, but calcium carbonate skeletons of marine
organisms may actually start to dissolve at or near the ocean surface in some parts of the globe.
These changes are occurring because of the complex interplay between rising CO2 levels in the
atmosphere and the ocean’s chemistry, a process that scientists have recognized for decades.
When atmospheric CO2 dissolves into the ocean, it forms carbonic acid (H2CO3). Some of the
carbonic acid dissociates in ocean waters producing hydrogen ions (H+) and bicarbonate ions
(HCO -
3 ). As the number of hydrogen ions increases, the pH of the ocean gets lower, or more
acidic. When more CO2 is added to the atmosphere, more carbonic acid forms in the ocean. Over
the past several decades, about half of the CO2 released by human activities has remained in the
atmosphere; of the remainder, about 30% has entered the oceans.10 As a result, the additional
carbonic acid has decreased average ocean surface water alkalinity as reflected by decreasing
ocean pH approximately 0.1 pH unit (i.e., an increase of about 26% in hydrogen ion
concentration).11
A lower pH affects marine life in the oceans and is related to other changes in ocean chemistry.
For example, the bicarbonate ion (HCO -
3 ) mentioned above further dissociates into H+ and
carbonate ions (CO 2-
3 ), and it is the abundance and availability of carbonate ions that are critical
to many shell-forming marine organisms. At current average ocean pH levels (about 8 or above),
ocean surface waters have ample carbonate ions to support shell formation and coral growth.
However, as increased amounts of carbonic acid form in the ocean from higher CO2 levels in the
atmosphere, pH gets lower and the amount of carbonate ion in the oceans decreases, resulting in
less carbonate ion available for making shells.
Organisms make biogenic calcium carbonate for their shells by combining calcium ions (Ca2+)—
which are abundant in the oceans—with carbonate ions to form solid calcium carbonate (CaCO3).
9 See, for example, K. K. Yates and R. B. Halley, “Diurnal Variations in Rates of Calcification and Carbonate Sediment
Dissolution in Florida Bay,” Estuaries and Coasts, v. 29 (2006): 24-39; and K. K. Yates and R. B. Halley, CO 2-
3
Concentration and pCO2 Thresholds for Calcification and Dissolution on the Molokai Reef Flat, Hawaii,”
Biogeosciences, v. 3 (2006): 357-369.
10 Richard A. Feely et al., “Impact of Anthropogenic CO2 on the CaCO3 System in the Oceans,” Science (2004), vol.
305, pp. 362-366.
11 James C. Orr et al., “Anthropogenic Ocean Acidification over the Twenty-First Century and Its Impact on Calcifying
Organisms,” Nature, vol. 437 (2005): 681-686.
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Marine organisms such as corals and pteropods use one mineral type of calcium carbonate called
aragonite, and other organisms such as foraminifera and coccolithophorids use another type
called calcite. Under present conditions of ocean chemistry, both forms of calcium carbonate are
relatively stable in the surface ocean. The surface ocean is deemed saturated with respect to both
calcite and aragonite, meaning that organisms can form shells from either mineral type. However,
as more carbonic acid is added to the surface ocean from higher levels of CO2 in the atmosphere,
the level of saturation decreases. If the ocean waters become undersaturated, then shells made
from aragonite or calcite would tend to dissolve. Shells made from aragonite would tend to
dissolve first, at lower concentrations of carbonic acid (and thus at higher pH values) than would
shells made from calcite.
Although surface waters currently are more than fully saturated with carbonate, declining
carbonate concentrations (caused by increasing acidity) are projected to reduce the ability of
organisms to form biogenic calcium carbonate. Some suggest that marine surface waters closer to
the poles may become undersaturated within the next 50 years.12 Researchers at the Antarctic
Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre have demonstrated significant reductions
in shell mass and thickness of several Southern Ocean marine plants and animals that appear
consistent with the projected effects of recent increased acidification of the ocean.13
In response to ocean acidification, scientists have projected that mussel and oyster calcification,
and thus shell strength, could decrease by 25% and 10%, respectively, by the end of the 21st
century, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s IS92a scenario.14 There is
also the concern that increased acidification may cause marine calcium carbonate sediments to
dissolve with potential detrimental effects on species and communities residing in and on these
sediments.15 Since many of these organisms provide food or modify habitat for other organisms,
the well-being of these carbonate-dependent species will affect other species. Because of these
interrelationships, the potential indirect effects of acidification on other marine organisms is not
well understood. While some have raised concerns that ocean acidification, by negatively
affecting calcifying plankton species, could shift ecological balances so as to increase populations
of some noncalcifying species, there appears to be no significant relationship between jellyfish
abundance and acidic conditions, and any role of pH in structuring zooplankton communities is
believed to be tenuous.16
There are also concerns that increasing acidification of ocean waters could alter the ability of
some organisms to conduct essential biochemical and physiological processes. For example,
scientists have found that, when exposed to water of pH 7.7, roughly equivalent to acidity levels
predicted for the year 2100, sea urchin sperm swam much more slowly. Overall, fertilization fell
by 25%, and in almost 26% of cases where the eggs were fertilized, they did not survive long
enough to develop into larvae.17 However, larval and juvenile fish were exposed to exceedingly
12 Orr et al. (2005).
13 Bruce Mapstone, “Acid Oceans in the Spotlight,” Antarctic Climate and Ecosystem News, edition 4 (August 2008):
1.
14 Frederic Gazeau et al., “Impact of Elevated CO2 on Shellfish Calcification,” Geophysical Research Letters, v. 34, no.
7 (Apr. 16, 2007): L07603 (5 p.).
15 M. Gehlen, L. Bopp, and O. Aumont, “Short-term Dissolution Response of Pelagic Carbonate Sediments to the
Invasion of Anthropogenic CO2: A Model Study,” Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., v. 9 (Feb. 16, 2008): Q02012.
16 A. J. Richardson and M. J. Gibbons, “Are Jellyfish Increasing in Response to Ocean Acidification?,” Limnology and
Oceanography, v. 53, no. 5 (2008):2040-2045.
17 Jon N. Havenhand, Fenina-Raphaeia Buttler, Michael C. Thorndyke, and Jane E. Williamson, “Near-Future Levels
(continued...)
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high CO2 concentrations (more than 100 times current levels) and suffered little apparent harm,18
appearing to be among the more tolerant marine animals.19 These scientists believe that “the
relative tolerance of fish may relate to high capacity for internal ion and acid-base regulation via
direct proton excretion, and an intracellular respiratory protein that results in a high oxygen-
carrying capacity and substantial venous oxygen reserve.”
In nature, the ocean waters at depths of hundreds or thousands of feet become undersaturated with
respect to aragonite and calcite, which is why most of the shells from dead organisms that “rain”
down from the ocean surface dissolve before reaching the ocean floor.20 One concern is that
increasing levels of atmospheric CO2 entering the ocean and mixing with deeper waters will
result in a shoaling of undersaturated conditions, which could reach shallow levels where most of
the shell-forming organisms live. Under those conditions, some plankton and corals may have
difficulty maintaining their calcium carbonate skeletons. This is likely to occur first in colder
waters near the poles, which tend to have higher levels of dissolved CO2 than warmer waters near
the equator. Recent research suggests that some areas, such as the Southern Ocean, could become
undersaturated with respect to aragonite by 2050 or sooner.21
The fossil record indicates that marine organisms may be quite sensitive to ocean acidification—
about 55 million years ago, a large injection of CO2 into the deep ocean, presumably resulting
from a massive methane release, was followed by the extinction of some species of benthic
foraminifera.22 Others caution that these paleo-events may be imperfect analogs to current
conditions.23
Some have raised questions downplaying the potential harm to coral reefs from ocean
acidification. Differences of opinion exist on the relative effects of climate change as expressed in
increased CO2 when compared to increased ocean temperature. Opinion has been expressed that,
in marine systems, increased temperature may have detrimental effects comparable to or larger
than those seen from increased CO2 concentration, for corals and for phytoplankton.24 Although
calcification rates in massive Porites coral were reported to have declined over a 16-year study
period by approximately 21% in two regions on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, these findings
(...continued)
of Ocean Acidification Reduce Fertilization Success in a Sea Urchin,” Current Biology, v. 18, no. 15 (August 2008):
651-652.
18 A. Ishimatsu et al., “Effects of CO2 on Marine Fish: Larvae and Adults,” Journal of Oceanography, v. 60, no. 4
(2004): 731-741.
19 V.J. Fabry et al., “Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Fauna and Ecosystem Processes,” ICES Journal of
Marine Science, v. 65 (2008): 414-432.
20 Recent research suggests that no more than about 30% of the calcium carbonate produced in the surface ocean each
year is buried in shallow or deep sea sediments; the rest dissolves on its way down the water column. See Feely et al.
(2004), p. 365.
21 Orr et al. (2005).
22 J. C. Zachos et al., “Rapid Acidification of the Ocean During the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum,” Science, v.
308 (2005): 1611-1615.
23 Scott C. Doney et al., “Ocean Acidification: The Other CO2 Problem,” Annual Review of Marine Science, v. 1
(January 2009): 169-192.
24 Clinton E. Hare et al., “Consequences of Increased Temperature and CO2 for Phytoplankton Community Structure in
the Bering Sea,” Marine Ecology Progress Series, v. 352 (2007), p. 14.
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were consistent with studies of the synergistic effect of elevated seawater temperatures and CO2
concentrations on coral calcification.25
In support of the ability of certain corals to survive decreasing pH, stony and soft corals have
been grown successfully in open systems with water from a saltwater well at a pH between 7.5
and 7.8 since the 1970s.26 Others have found that certain species of coral survive in the laboratory
at a pH 7.3 to 7.6 after their calcified structure dissolves by functioning similar to sea anemones,
and retaining the ability to recalcify when pH is increased.27 However, in the natural marine
environment, predation could be a significant factor in limiting the viability of such “naked”
corals, and it is unlikely that such organisms could form reefs and attract the diverse community
that constitutes a coral reef.
Concern has also arisen that lower ocean water pH will change low-frequency (below 10 KHz)
sound absorption in the ocean, increasing noise levels within the auditory range critical for
environmental, military, and economic interests.28 Frequencies dependent decreases to sound
absorption related to the current decrease in pH of about 0.1 pH unit may exceed 12%, and an
anticipated pH decrease of 0.3 pH units by mid-century may result in an almost 40% decrease in
sound absorption. It is unknown how marine mammals might adapt to an ocean increasingly
transparent to sound at low frequencies.
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Our ability to reduce ocean acidification through artificial means is unproven. Proposals have
suggested the addition of chemicals to the ocean, such as (1) using iron compounds to stimulate
planktonic algae growth whereby the increased photosynthesis might capture/remove dissolved
CO2, or (2) using limestone to neutralize (i.e., buffer) the more acidic streams and rivers near
where they enter oceans and close to sources of limestone. Other measures might include habitat
restoration/creation, such as planting seagrass. Unless a massive global effort is mounted, these
techniques will at best be effective only on a very local scale. In addition, manipulation of ocean
chemistry has the potential to damage or otherwise alter the marine environment and ecosystems.
Reducing CO2 emissions to the atmosphere and/or removing CO2 from the atmosphere (i.e.,
carbon sequestration) currently appear to be the only practical ways to minimize the risk of large-
scale and long-term changes to the acidity of marine waters. Because of the continuing increase in
CO2 levels in the atmosphere, and its residence time there, acidification of the oceans will likely
continue for a long time. Even if atmospheric CO2 were to return to pre-industrial levels, it would
25 T. F. Cooper et al., “Declining Coral Calcification in Massive Porites in Two Nearshore Regions of the Northern
Great Barrier Reef,” Global Change Biology, v. 14 (2008): 529-538.
26 M. J. Atkinson, B. Carlson, and G. L. Crow, “Coral growth in high nutrient, low-pH seawater: a case study of corals
cultured at the Waikiki Aquarium, Honolulu, Hawaii,” Coral Reefs, v. 14, no. 4 (1995): 215-223.
27 Maoz Fine and Dan Tchernov, “Scleractinian Coral Species Survive and Recover from Decalcification,” Science, v.
315, no. 5820 (March 30, 2007): 1811.
28 Keith C. Hester et al., “Unanticipated Consequences of Ocean Acidification: A Noisier Ocean at Lower pH,”
Geophysical Research Letters, v. 35 (2008): L19601, doe:10.1029/2008FL034913.
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likely take tens of thousands of years for ocean chemistry to return to a condition similar to that
occurring at pre-industrial times more than 200 years ago.29
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Much of the current federal attention to ocean acidification focuses on research to better
understand the chemical processes involved and to become better able to predict how ocean
ecosystems might respond to increasing acidification.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) was the first federal agency to become involved in
research related to ocean acidification. The modern surveys of CO2 status in the oceans can be
traced to the NSF-sponsored Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS), which originated in
recommendations from a National Academy of Sciences workshop in 1984.30 The more modern
concerns over ocean acidification arose from a May 2004 Paris workshop chaired by the now-
president of the National Academy of Sciences, Ralph Cicerone.31 In October 2008, NOAA and
the National Science Foundation commissioned an 18-month comprehensive national study by
the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences of how CO2 emissions
absorbed into the oceans may be altering fisheries, marine mammals, coral reefs, and other
natural resources.32 This study was required by Section 701 of P.L. 109-479.33
A variety of programs conducted within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) help to gain a better understanding of ocean acidification.34 The Pacific Marine
Environmental Laboratory’s CO2 shipboard measurements and monitoring buoys provide data
that help discern seasonal changes in the oceanic carbon system. The Atlantic Oceanographic and
Meteorological Laboratory monitors changes in CO2 and pH through the use of chemical sensors
on ships and moorings. NOAA’s Repeat Hydrography Program provides data on the large-scale
changes of carbon system and ocean acidification over decadal time scales. Sea Grant supports
research on the effects of ocean acidification on coral reefs in Hawaii. NOAA’s Geophysical
Fluid Dynamics Laboratory participated in the Ocean-Carbon Cycle Model Intercomparison
Project (OCMIP2) to develop an international collaboration to improve the predictive capacity of
carbon cycle models. NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center has been conducting
exposure studies of blue king crab larval survival due to reduced pH and has developed an ocean
acidification research plan.35 NOAA Fisheries Southwest Fisheries Science Center has been
29 The Royal Society, Ocean Acidification due to Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, Policy Document 12/05
(June 2005), 60 p.
30 For additional background, see http://www1.whoi.edu/jgofMission.html.
31 Ralph Cicerone, “The Ocean in a High CO2 World,” Eos, v. 85, no. 37 (September 14, 2004): 351, 353.
32 See http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/20081020_oceanacid.html.
33 This measure requires the Secretary of Commerce to request that the National Research Council study acidification
of the oceans and how this process affects the United States.
34 Testimony by Dr. Richard A. Feely, NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, before the House
Committee on Science and Technology, Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, June 5, 2008.
35 Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Forecast Fish, Shellfish, and Coral Population Responses to Ocean Acidification in
the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, National Marine Fisheries Service (Juneau, AK: August 2008), AFSC
Processed Report 2008-7, 35 p.
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evaluating the long-term impacts of low pH on marine plankton in the California Current and off
Antarctica. Projects funded by NOAA Global Carbon Cycle program at NOAA laboratories and
universities provide information to address the CO2 and pH changes in the ocean. NOAA
estimates that its annual expenditures for these ocean acidification research and related programs
in FY2008 were about $4.3 million; for FY2009, NOAA has requested $4.06 million.36
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has a number of space projects that
contribute to a better understanding of ocean acidification.37
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Congressional attention is focused primarily on addressing the cause of ocean acidification—
increasing atmospheric CO2.38 Legislative attention to ocean acidification focuses on authorizing
and funding research to increase knowledge about ocean acidification and its potential effects on
marine ecosystems.
In the 111th Congress, the Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009
(H.R. 14, S. 173, and Title XII, Subtitle D of S. 22) would direct the Secretary of Commerce to
establish an ocean acidification program within NOAA, establish an interagency committee to
develop an ocean acidification research and monitoring plan, and authorize appropriations
through FY2012 for NOAA and the National Science Foundation. The Senate passed S. 22, the
Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (amended) on January 15, 2009.
In comparison to previous sessions of Congress, legislative interest in ocean acidification
expanded significantly in the 110th Congress. In the 110th Congress, the Senate Commerce,
Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
held a hearing on the effects of climate change and ocean acidification on living marine
resources. In the House, the Committee on Science and Technology held a hearing on H.R. 4174,
the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act (establishing an interagency
committee to develop an ocean acidification research and monitoring plan and establishing an
ocean acidification program within NOAA). The House later passed this measure, but it was not
considered in the Senate. In addition, the House passed H.R. 3221 (amended), wherein Section
7471 would have directed the Secretary of Commerce to develop a national strategy to predict,
plan for, and mitigate climate change effects, including ocean acidification, on ocean and coastal
ecosystems to ensure the recovery, resiliency, and health of these systems. The Senate did not
consider this measure. The Senate did pass H.R. 3093, after inserting language that would have
specified NOAA funds to initiate the study of ocean acidification and its effects, required by
Section 701 of P.L. 109-479; however, this language was deleted in conference on this measure.
36 Personal communication from Jonathan Kelsey, Congressional Affairs Specialist, Office of Legislative Affairs,
NOAA, (202) 482-0809, Dec. 11, 2008.
37 See http://oco.jpl.nasa.gov/, http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/about/, http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/SeaWiFS/, and
http://so-gasex.org/media.html.
38 See CRS Current Legislative Issue “Climate Change”, available at http://apps.crs.gov/cli/cli.aspx?
PRDS_CLI_ITEM_ID=2645&from=3&fromId=2522.
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More than a dozen other bills containing provisions on this issue did not receive any floor action
in the 110th Congress.39
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Eugene H. Buck
Peter Folger
Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
Specialist in Energy and Natural Resources Policy
gbuck@crs.loc.gov, 7-7262
pfolger@crs.loc.gov, 7-1517
39 For more details on ocean acidification legislation in the 110th Congress, see the section “Climate Change” in CRS
Report RL33813, Fishery, Aquaculture, and Marine Mammal Legislation in the 110th Congress, by Eugene H. Buck.
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