SA国际传媒

SHELTON, SA国际传媒 鈥� At first, SA国际传媒 shellfish farmers thought it might be bacteria.

Something was causing an usually high mortality rate among the tiny, baby oysters.

鈥淲e were having zero survival,鈥� said Diani Taylor, a fifth-generation shellfish farmer. 鈥淲e were very concerned.鈥�

This was back in 2007. What scientists have since learned is that it wasn鈥檛 bacteria killing the molluscs at all. It was the seawater itself. The ocean was becoming more acidified.

But instead of devastating an industry that generates millions of dollars each year, shellfish companies began adapting. The shellfish industry now monitors the pH in hatchery waters and adds soda ash 鈥� a harmless additive 鈥� when needed to allow the seed clams, oysters and geoduck to thrive.

鈥淚t鈥檚 made a huge impact,鈥� said Taylor, who grew up working in the Taylor Shellfish family business.

The company, the largest producer of farmed shellfish in the country, has nearly 600 employees working at its hatcheries, farms, processing facilities and restaurants.

Taylor Shellfish and other shellfish farmers now are partners with the University of SA国际传媒 to collect and share data through EarthLab鈥檚 .

Born from a SA国际传媒 State Blue Ribbon Panel, the center was established at the UW in 2013 by the Legislature to make sure actions to address ocean acidification have a strong backbone in science. Along with colleagues and collaborators at state and federal agencies, it was up to co-directors and to bring the new center to life, ensuring it serves the needs of SA国际传媒 citizens.

鈥淲hen we first were funded by the Legislature to stand up the SA国际传媒 Ocean Acidification Center, there was no precedent. It was exciting to implement the guidance from the panel to build, with our partners, something valuable to the state,鈥� said Newton, a UW oceanographer and professor.

Ocean acidification isn鈥檛 just a SA国际传媒 state issue. It鈥檚 a global phenomenon.

Worldwide, the ocean plays an invaluable service to the planet by absorbing nearly 30% of the carbon dioxide produced by human activity. Yet this also drives a series of reactions that change seawater chemistry, and as a result the oceans are becoming more acidified, which poses a suite of problems to some marine organisms, including the tide-tumbled oyster varieties like Shigoku, Fat Bastard and Grand Cru.

In SA国际传媒, ocean acidification鈥檚 threat became visible when those oysters鈥� seeds were reaching unprecedented mortality rates. That鈥檚 because corrosive seawater compromises the ability of shellfish to form their shells, especially in the animal鈥檚 early days.

Answers began surfacing when scientists, including those at the SA国际传媒 Ocean Acidification Center, NOAA and Oregon State University, connected with shellfish growers and other partners, helping solve what initially seemed like an intractable problem.

Now, thanks to the collaborative work between research scientists and shellfish farmers, the industry has new tools to manage corrosive water: real-time monitoring of water conditions at the hatcheries and nearby waters, viewable via the online portal ; adding buffering agents to incoming seawater; and tracking forecasts of unfavorable water conditions through , a model that forecasts when SA国际传媒鈥檚 waters are particularly corrosive.

Using a suite of inputs to the model 鈥� like ocean currents, weather, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and more 鈥� LiveOcean issues a three-day forecast of ocean conditions that are useful to numerous communities, including shellfish farmers, like Taylor Shellfish.

By checking the forecast, farmers can decide if the conditions are favorable to set out baby oysters to start growing in the ocean or if they should wait until conditions improve. All this comes from a free website that provides real-time forecasting data for marine waters across the Pacific Northwest.

With partners, the SA国际传媒 Ocean Acidification Center works to monitor and model SA国际传媒 waters, both on the coast and throughout the Salish Sea, which includes Puget Sound. The center emphasizes using results from both monitoring and modeling together to advance knowledge.

In many cases, these tools have allowed shellfish 鈥� and the industry 鈥� to continue thriving.

Over the years, the center鈥檚 approach to research has become even more sophisticated, all while remaining 鈥済rounded on the Blue Ribbon Panel recommendations to sustain observations, modeling, and biological experiments relevant to ocean acidification,鈥� Newton said.

Researchers now can start telling the story of how ocean acidification threatens ocean food webs, which underpin the eye-popping amount of wildlife and productivity in Puget Sound.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to use the lens of ocean acidification to help solve bigger problems,鈥� said Klinger, a UW professor of marine and environmental affairs. 鈥淲e鈥檝e grown since our establishment and are moving from just a focus on, let鈥檚 say shellfish, also to include salmon, forage fish, harmful algal blooms and other parts of our ecosystem that are really important to the region.鈥�

Expanding the focus matters because it can answer questions at ecological scales, helping decision-makers better understand the threats to the tiniest creatures in the ecosystem all the way up to the big ones, like the endangered southern resident orca whales.

鈥淥cean acidification is one issue we can work around,鈥� said Taylor, the shellfish farmer. 鈥淭he more we learn the more complicated it becomes.鈥�

This story has been updated to include its original publication date.