%0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T Reckoning with the U.S. Role in Global Ocean Plastic Waste %@ 978-0-309-45885-6 %D 2022 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26132/reckoning-with-the-us-role-in-global-ocean-plastic-waste %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26132/reckoning-with-the-us-role-in-global-ocean-plastic-waste %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 268 %X An estimated 8 million metric tons (MMT) of plastic waste enters the world's ocean each year - the equivalent of dumping a garbage truck of plastic waste into the ocean every minute. Plastic waste is now found in almost every marine habitat, from the ocean surface to deep sea sediments to the ocean's vast mid-water region, as well as the Great Lakes. This report responds to a request in the bipartisan Save Our Seas 2.0 Act for a scientific synthesis of the role of the United States both in contributing to and responding to global ocean plastic waste. The United States is a major producer of plastics and in 2016, generated more plastic waste by weight and per capita than any other nation. Although the U.S. solid waste management system is advanced, it is not sufficient to deter leakage into the environment. Reckoning with the U.S. Role in Global Ocean Plastic Waste calls for a national strategy by the end of 2022 to reduce the nation's contribution to global ocean plastic waste at every step - from production to its entry into the environment - including by substantially reducing U.S. solid waste generation. This report also recommends a nationally-coordinated and expanded monitoring system to track plastic pollution in order to understand the scales and sources of U.S. plastic waste, set reduction and management priorities, and measure progress. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Assessing the Requirements for Sustained Ocean Color Research and Operations %@ 978-0-309-21044-7 %D 2011 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13127/assessing-the-requirements-for-sustained-ocean-color-research-and-operations %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13127/assessing-the-requirements-for-sustained-ocean-color-research-and-operations %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %P 114 %X The ocean is a fundamental component of the earth's biosphere. It covers roughly 70 percent of Earth's surface and plays a pivotal role in the cycling of life's building blocks, such as nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, and sulfur. The ocean also contributes to regulating the climate system. Most of the primary producers in the ocean comprise of microscopic plants and some bacteria; and these photosynthetic organisms (phytoplankton) form the base of the ocean's food web. Monitoring the health of the ocean and its productivity is critical to understanding and managing the ocean's essential functions and living resources. Because the ocean is so vast and difficult for humans to explore, satellite remote sensing of ocean color is currently the only way to observe and monitor the biological state of the surface ocean globally on time scales of days to decades. Ocean color measurements reveal a wealth of ecologically important characteristics including: chlorophyll concentration, the rate of phytoplankton photosynthesis, sediment transport, dispersion of pollutants, and responses of oceanic biota to long-term climate changes. Continuity of satellite ocean color data and associated climate research products are presently at significant risk for the U.S. ocean color community. Assessing Requirements for Sustained Ocean Color Research and Operations aims to identify the ocean color data needs for a broad range of end users, develop a consensus for the minimum requirements, and outline options to meet these needs on a sustained basis. The report assesses lessons learned in global ocean color remote sensing from the SeaWiFS/MODIS era to guide planning for acquisition of future global ocean color radiance data to support U.S. research and operational needs. %0 Book %T A National Strategy for Advancing Climate Modeling %@ 978-0-309-25977-4 %D 2012 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13430/a-national-strategy-for-advancing-climate-modeling %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13430/a-national-strategy-for-advancing-climate-modeling %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %K Earth Sciences %P 294 %X As climate change has pushed climate patterns outside of historic norms, the need for detailed projections is growing across all sectors, including agriculture, insurance, and emergency preparedness planning. A National Strategy for Advancing Climate Modeling emphasizes the needs for climate models to evolve substantially in order to deliver climate projections at the scale and level of detail desired by decision makers, this report finds. Despite much recent progress in developing reliable climate models, there are still efficiencies to be gained across the large and diverse U.S. climate modeling community. Evolving to a more unified climate modeling enterprise-in particular by developing a common software infrastructure shared by all climate researchers and holding an annual climate modeling forum-could help speed progress. Throughout this report, several recommendations and guidelines are outlined to accelerate progress in climate modeling. The U.S. supports several climate models, each conceptually similar but with components assembled with slightly different software and data output standards. If all U.S. climate models employed a single software system, it could simplify testing and migration to new computing hardware, and allow scientists to compare and interchange climate model components, such as land surface or ocean models. A National Strategy for Advancing Climate Modeling recommends an annual U.S. climate modeling forum be held to help bring the nation's diverse modeling communities together with the users of climate data. This would provide climate model data users with an opportunity to learn more about the strengths and limitations of models and provide input to modelers on their needs and provide a venue for discussions of priorities for the national modeling enterprise, and bring disparate climate science communities together to design common modeling experiments. In addition, A National Strategy for Advancing Climate Modeling explains that U.S. climate modelers will need to address an expanding breadth of scientific problems while striving to make predictions and projections more accurate. Progress toward this goal can be made through a combination of increasing model resolution, advances in observations, improved model physics, and more complete representations of the Earth system. To address the computing needs of the climate modeling community, the report suggests a two-pronged approach that involves the continued use and upgrading of existing climate-dedicated computing resources at modeling centers, together with research on how to effectively exploit the more complex computer hardware systems expected over the next 10 to 20 years. %0 Book %A National Research Council %E Henson, Robert %T Satellite Observations to Benefit Science and Society: Recommended Missions for the Next Decade %@ 978-0-309-10903-1 %D 2008 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11952/satellite-observations-to-benefit-science-and-society-recommended-missions-for %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11952/satellite-observations-to-benefit-science-and-society-recommended-missions-for %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %K Earth Sciences %P 40 %X Satellite Observations to Benefit Science and Society: Recommended Missions for the Next Decade brings the next ten years into focus for the Earth and environmental science community with a prioritized agenda of space programs, missions, and supporting activities that will best serve scientists in the next decade. These missions will address a broad range of societal needs, such as more reliable weather forecasts, early earthquake warnings, and improved pollution management, benefiting both scientific discovery and the health and well-being of society. Based on the 2007 book, Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond, this book explores each of the seventeen recommended missions in detail, identifying launch dates, responsible agencies, estimated cost, scientific and public benefits, and more. Printed entirely in color, the book features rich photographs and illustrations, tables, and graphs that will keep the attention of scientists and non-scientists alike. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond %@ 978-0-309-14090-4 %D 2007 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11820/earth-science-and-applications-from-space-national-imperatives-for-the %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11820/earth-science-and-applications-from-space-national-imperatives-for-the %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %K Space and Aeronautics %P 454 %X Natural and human-induced changes in Earth's interior, land surface, biosphere, atmosphere, and oceans affect all aspects of life. Understanding these changes requires a range of observations acquired from land-, sea-, air-, and space-based platforms. To assist NASA, NOAA, and USGS in developing these tools, the NRC was asked to carry out a "decadal strategy" survey of Earth science and applications from space that would develop the key scientific questions on which to focus Earth and environmental observations in the period 2005-2015 and beyond, and present a prioritized list of space programs, missions, and supporting activities to address these questions. This report presents a vision for the Earth science program; an analysis of the existing Earth Observing System and recommendations to help restore its capabilities; an assessment of and recommendations for new observations and missions for the next decade; an examination of and recommendations for effective application of those observations; and an analysis of how best to sustain that observation and applications system. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Exploration of the Seas: Voyage into the Unknown %@ 978-0-309-08927-2 %D 2003 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10844/exploration-of-the-seas-voyage-into-the-unknown %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10844/exploration-of-the-seas-voyage-into-the-unknown %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %P 228 %X In the summer of 1803, Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on a journey to establish an American presence in a land of unqualified natural resources and riches. Is it fitting that, on the 200th anniversary of that expedition, the United States, together with international partners, should embark on another journey of exploration in a vastly more extensive region of remarkable potential for discovery. Although the oceans cover more than 70 percent of our planet's surface, much of the ocean has been investigated in only a cursory sense, and many areas have not been investigated at all. Exploration of the Seas assesses the feasibility and potential value of implementing a major, coordinated, international program of ocean exploration and discovery. The study committee surveys national and international ocean programs and strategies for cooperation between governments, institutions, and ocean scientists and explorers, identifying strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in these activities. Based primarily on existing documents, the committee summarizes priority areas for ocean research and exploration and examines existing plans for advancing ocean exploration and knowledge. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Assessment of Intraseasonal to Interannual Climate Prediction and Predictability %@ 978-0-309-15183-2 %D 2010 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12878/assessment-of-intraseasonal-to-interannual-climate-prediction-and-predictability %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12878/assessment-of-intraseasonal-to-interannual-climate-prediction-and-predictability %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 192 %X More accurate forecasts of climate conditions over time periods of weeks to a few years could help people plan agricultural activities, mitigate drought, and manage energy resources, amongst other activities; however, current forecast systems have limited ability on these time- scales. Models for such climate forecasts must take into account complex interactions among the ocean, atmosphere, and land surface. Such processes can be difficult to represent realistically. To improve the quality of forecasts, this book makes recommendations about the development of the tools used in forecasting and about specific research goals for improving understanding of sources of predictability. To improve the accessibility of these forecasts to decision-makers and researchers, this book also suggests best practices to improve how forecasts are made and disseminated. %0 Book %A National Research Council %E Glickson, Deborah %T Oceanography in 2025: Proceedings of a Workshop %@ 978-0-309-13745-4 %D 2009 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12627/oceanography-in-2025-proceedings-of-a-workshop %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12627/oceanography-in-2025-proceedings-of-a-workshop %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %P 198 %X On January 8 and 9, 2009, the Ocean Studies Board of the National Research Council, in response to a request from the Office of Naval Research, hosted the "Oceanography in 2025" workshop. The goal of the workshop was to bring together scientists, engineers, and technologists to explore future directions in oceanography, with an emphasis on physical processes. The focus centered on research and technology needs, trends, and barriers that may impact the field of oceanography over the next 16 years, and highlighted specific areas of interest: submesoscale processes, air-sea interactions, basic and applied research, instrumentation and vehicles, ocean infrastructure, and education. To guide the white papers and drive discussions, four questions were posed to participants: What research questions could be answered? What will remain unanswered? What new technologies could be developed? How will research be conducted? %0 Book %A National Academy of Sciences %T Climate Change: Evidence and Causes %D 2014 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/18730/climate-change-evidence-and-causes %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/18730/climate-change-evidence-and-causes %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 36 %X Climate Change: Evidence and Causes is a jointly produced publication of The US National Academy of Sciences and The Royal Society. Written by a UK-US team of leading climate scientists and reviewed by climate scientists and others, the publication is intended as a brief, readable reference document for decision makers, policy makers, educators, and other individuals seeking authoritative information on the some of the questions that continue to be asked. Climate Change makes clear what is well-established and where understanding is still developing. It echoes and builds upon the long history of climate-related work from both national academies, as well as on the newest climate-change assessment from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It touches on current areas of active debate and ongoing research, such as the link between ocean heat content and the rate of warming. %0 Book %T An Oceanic Quest: The International Decade of Ocean Exploration. %D 1969 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25564/an-oceanic-quest-the-international-decade-of-ocean-exploration %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25564/an-oceanic-quest-the-international-decade-of-ocean-exploration %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %P 0 %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T A Research Strategy for Ocean-based Carbon Dioxide Removal and Sequestration %@ 978-0-309-08761-2 %D 2022 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26278/a-research-strategy-for-ocean-based-carbon-dioxide-removal-and-sequestration %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26278/a-research-strategy-for-ocean-based-carbon-dioxide-removal-and-sequestration %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %K Earth Sciences %P 322 %X As of 2021, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have reached historically unprecedented levels, higher than at any time in the past 800,000 years. Worldwide efforts to reduce emissions by creating a more efficient, carbon-free energy system may not be enough to stabilize the climate and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategies, which remove and sequester carbon from the atmosphere, likely will be needed to meet global climate goals. The ocean, covering 70% of the Earth's surface, includes much of the global capacity for natural carbon sequestration; the ocean also holds great potential for uptake and longerterm sequestration of human-produced CO2. This report builds on previous work from the National Academies to assess what is currently known about the benefits, risks, and potential for responsible scale-up of six specific ocean-based CDR strategies as identified by the sponsor, ClimateWorks Foundation. It describes the research needed to advance understanding of those approaches and address knowledge gaps. The resulting research agenda is meant to provide an improved and unbiased knowledge base for the public, stakeholders, and policymakers to make informed decisions on the next steps for ocean CDR, as part of a larger climate mitigation strategy; it is not meant to lock in or advocate for any particular approach. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Boundary Layer Dynamics %@ 978-0-309-05742-4 %D 1997 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5710/boundary-layer-dynamics %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5710/boundary-layer-dynamics %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Math, Chemistry, and Physics %K Earth Sciences %P 49 %0 Book %A National Academy of Engineering %A National Research Council %T The Carbon Dioxide Dilemma: Promising Technologies and Policies %@ 978-0-309-08921-0 %D 2003 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10798/the-carbon-dioxide-dilemma-promising-technologies-and-policies %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10798/the-carbon-dioxide-dilemma-promising-technologies-and-policies %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %K Math, Chemistry, and Physics %P 150 %X Growing concerns about climate change partly as a result of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions has prompted the research community to assess technologies and policies for sequestration. This report contains presentations of a symposium held in April of 2002. The sequestration options range form ocean disposal, terrestrial disposal in geologic formations, biomass based approaches and carbon trading schemes. The report also presents current efforts at enhanced oil recovery using carbon dioxide and demonstrating its utility. The volume is intended only as introduction to the subject and not the final word. %0 Book %T Climate Change: Evidence and Causes: Update 2020 %@ 978-0-309-67502-4 %D 2020 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25733/climate-change-evidence-and-causes-update-2020 %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25733/climate-change-evidence-and-causes-update-2020 %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 36 %X Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time. It is now more certain than ever, based on many lines of evidence, that humans are changing Earth's climate. The Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences, with their similar missions to promote the use of science to benefit society and to inform critical policy debates, produced the original Climate Change: Evidence and Causes in 2014. It was written and reviewed by a UK-US team of leading climate scientists. This new edition, prepared by the same author team, has been updated with the most recent climate data and scientific analyses, all of which reinforce our understanding of human-caused climate change. Scientific information is a vital component for society to make informed decisions about how to reduce the magnitude of climate change and how to adapt to its impacts. This booklet serves as a key reference document for decision makers, policy makers, educators, and others seeking authoritative answers about the current state of climate-change science. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Applications of Analytical Chemistry to Oceanic Carbon Cycle Studies %@ 978-0-309-04928-3 %D 1993 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/2202/applications-of-analytical-chemistry-to-oceanic-carbon-cycle-studies %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/2202/applications-of-analytical-chemistry-to-oceanic-carbon-cycle-studies %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %K Math, Chemistry, and Physics %P 96 %X This book both describes the chemical parameters that must be measured in the ocean in order to improve our understanding of the ocean's role in the global carbon cycle and recommends technologies of analytical chemistry that could be applied to these parameters. Additionally, the volume recommends how the federal government, ocean scientists, and analytical chemists could work together more closely to speed development of new instruments and implementation of new techniques. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T The Ocean's Role in Global Change: Progress of Major Research Programs %@ 978-0-309-05043-2 %D 1994 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/2354/the-oceans-role-in-global-change-progress-of-major-research %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/2354/the-oceans-role-in-global-change-progress-of-major-research %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 96 %X What role does the ocean play in global climate change? Although not fully understood, there is general agreement that it is significant. Therefore, the scientific community has initiated large-scale research programs based on studies of the ocean and its relation to global climate and climate-related processes. This volume provides brief summaries and reports on the progress of the major oceanographic research programs. It looks at both programs that study processes that occur over periods ranging from days to hundreds of years—the contemporary system—and those that seek to understand long-term variations ranging from thousands to millions of years—the geological perspective. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Chemical Reference Materials: Setting the Standards for Ocean Science %@ 978-0-309-08500-7 %D 2002 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10476/chemical-reference-materials-setting-the-standards-for-ocean-science %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10476/chemical-reference-materials-setting-the-standards-for-ocean-science %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 146 %X The accuracy of chemical oceanographic measurements depends on calibration against reference materials to ensure comparability over time and among laboratories. Several key parameters lack reference materials for measurements in seawater, particles in the water column, and sediments. Without reference materials it is difficult to produce the reliable data sets or long-term baseline studies that are essential to verify global change and oceanic stability. Chemical Reference Materials : Setting the Standards for Ocean Science identifies the most urgently required chemical reference materials based on key themes for oceanographic research and provides suggestions as to how they can be developed within realistic cost constraints. Chemical analyses of seawater are uniquely difficult given the poorly known speciation and the low concentration of many of the analytes of interest. Analyses of suspended and sedimentary marine particulate materials present their own distinct challenges, primarily due to potential interference by predominant mineral phases of different types. Of all the analytical methods applied to marine waters and particles, at present only a small fraction can be systematically evaluated via comparison to reference materials that represent the appropriate natural concentrations and matrices. Specifically, the committee was charged with the following tasks: - compile from available sources a list of important oceanographic research questions that may benefit from chemical reference standards; - create a comprehensive list of reference materials currently available for oceanographic studies; - identify and prioritize the reference materials needed to study the identified research questions; - determine for each priority analyte whether reference materials and/or analytic methods should be standardized; and - identify the most appropriate approaches for the development and future production of reference materials for ocean sciences. %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T Sustaining Ocean Observations to Understand Future Changes in Earth's Climate %@ 978-0-309-46680-6 %D 2017 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/24919/sustaining-ocean-observations-to-understand-future-changes-in-earths-climate %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/24919/sustaining-ocean-observations-to-understand-future-changes-in-earths-climate %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %P 150 %X The ocean is an integral component of the Earth's climate system. It covers about 70% of the Earth's surface and acts as its primary reservoir of heat and carbon, absorbing over 90% of the surplus heat and about 30% of the carbon dioxide associated with human activities, and receiving close to 100% of fresh water lost from land ice. With the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, notably carbon dioxide from fossil fuel combustion, the Earth's climate is now changing more rapidly than at any time since the advent of human societies. Society will increasingly face complex decisions about how to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change such as droughts, sea-level rise, ocean acidification, species loss, changes to growing seasons, and stronger and possibly more frequent storms. Observations play a foundational role in documenting the state and variability of components of the climate system and facilitating climate prediction and scenario development. Regular and consistent collection of ocean observations over decades to centuries would monitor the Earth's main reservoirs of heat, carbon dioxide, and water and provides a critical record of long-term change and variability over multiple time scales. Sustained high-quality observations are also needed to test and improve climate models, which provide insights into the future climate system. Sustaining Ocean Observations to Understand Future Changes in Earth's Climate considers processes for identifying priority ocean observations that will improve understanding of the Earth's climate processes, and the challenges associated with sustaining these observations over long timeframes. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Oceanography in the Next Decade: Building New Partnerships %@ 978-0-309-04794-4 %D 1992 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/2048/oceanography-in-the-next-decade-building-new-partnerships %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/2048/oceanography-in-the-next-decade-building-new-partnerships %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %P 216 %X Oceanography has moved into the spotlight of urgent social concern, because of the oceans' impact on issues such as global climate change, biodiversity, and even national security. This new volume points to improved partnerships between ocean scientists, federal agencies, and the oceanographic institutions as the key to understanding the oceans and their effects on our lives. Oceanography in the Next Decade outlines pressing marine research problems and offers recommendations for how they may be solved, with detailed discussions of: How oceanographic research is currently conducted. Recent discoveries and research needs in four subdisciplines—physical, chemical, geological, and biological. Coastal oceanography, which is important because of growing coastal populations. The infrastructure of oceanography, with a wealth of information about human, equipment, and financial resources. A blueprint for more productive partnerships between academic oceanographers and federal agencies. This comprehensive look at challenges and opportunities in oceanography will be important to researchers, faculty, and students in the field as well as federal policymakers, research administrators, and environmental professionals. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean %@ 978-0-309-15359-1 %D 2010 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12904/ocean-acidification-a-national-strategy-to-meet-the-challenges-of %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12904/ocean-acidification-a-national-strategy-to-meet-the-challenges-of %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %P 200 %X The ocean has absorbed a significant portion of all human-made carbon dioxide emissions. This benefits human society by moderating the rate of climate change, but also causes unprecedented changes to ocean chemistry. Carbon dioxide taken up by the ocean decreases the pH of the water and leads to a suite of chemical changes collectively known as ocean acidification. The long term consequences of ocean acidification are not known, but are expected to result in changes to many ecosystems and the services they provide to society. Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean reviews the current state of knowledge, explores gaps in understanding, and identifies several key findings. Like climate change, ocean acidification is a growing global problem that will intensify with continued CO2 emissions and has the potential to change marine ecosystems and affect benefits to society. The federal government has taken positive initial steps by developing a national ocean acidification program, but more information is needed to fully understand and address the threat that ocean acidification may pose to marine ecosystems and the services they provide. In addition, a global observation network of chemical and biological sensors is needed to monitor changes in ocean conditions attributable to acidification.