Project: Collaborative Research: Development and application of a method using coralline algae to reconstruct past changes in pH and impacts on calcification

Description from NSF award abstract:
The impacts of recent and future human-caused increases in atmospheric CO2 on the acidity (pH) of shallow cold-water marine environments (a process known as "ocean acidification"), and on the organisms that inhabit them, are poorly understood. This is due, in part, to the difficulty in reconstructing past changes in ocean chemistry in these remote environments. This research seeks to develop and apply a technique to reconstruct past seawater pH from boron isotope signatures in long-lived crustose coralline alga that are widespread throughout shallow, cold-water marine environments. In addition, the research will evaluate the impact of changing seawater pH on the growth rate of these ecologically important organisms, which are thought to be particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification because of the high magnesium content of their skeleton. Overall, this project will advance understanding of ocean acidification in shallow, cold-water environments, and provide key information to evaluate the impact that changes in ocean pH have had on organisms inhabiting these environments. The outcomes of this work will provide important information to policy makers and legislators seeking to mitigate the negative effects of rising atmospheric CO2 on these fragile, high-latitude marine ecosystems.

Funding supports a graduate student, numerous undergraduate researchers, and a new collaboration between two early career faculty members. Outreach includes mentoring high school students from groups underrepresented in the sciences through the Scripps College Academy and production of an educational film on the biological impacts of ocean acidification. The research team will strengthen international ties through collaboration with Canadian and UK scientists, while helping maintain US-based scientists at the forefront of this important sub-field of ocean acidification research.

The work plan includes three main parts: (1) developing the first laboratory-derived and field-verified calibration of the delta11B-proxy of paleoseawater pH for coralline algae, (2) generating the first high-resolution, multi-centennial dataset of high-latitude seawater pH before (ca. 1365 to 1760 AD; i.e., "baseline") and after (ca. 1760 AD to present; i.e., "anthropogenic signal") the Industrial Revolution, and (3) evaluating the impact of anthropogenic ocean acidification on the linear extension, density, and ultrastructure of skeletons produced by an ecologically important, habitat-forming coralline red alga. The associated objectives are: (1) to provide a new tool for reconstructing paleo-seawater pH, (2) to generate historical records of ocean acidification that would elucidate the rate and magnitude of high-latitude ocean acidification that could be used to verify predictive models, and (3) to establish empirical relationships between ocean acidification and coralline algal calcification that would inform predictions of future impacts of ocean acidification on high-latitude marine calcifiers.

Additional information may be found on the following lab websites:
Ries Lab - http://nuweb2.neu.edu/rieslab/
Williams Marine Environmental Change (MEC) Lab - https://branwenwilliams.com/