I wanted to call your attention to a special session on ocean acidification (OA) in coastal and estuarine ecosystems that we are organizing for Ocean Sciences 2012 (Salt Lake City, USA, 20-24 Feb.).  We hope that the session will showcase a diversity of approaches to studying the patterns and impacts of OA in coastal and estuarine ecosystems, where a variety of other stressors may interact with OA.

Please consider submitting an abstract to this session (full session description below) and/or forwarding this announcement to other potentially interested colleagues.

The abstract submission deadline is 23:59 pm Central Daylight Time on 7 October 2011.

Abstract submission and registration deadlines can be found at:
http://www.sgmeet.com/osm2012/

Best regards,
Simone Alin, Adrienne Sutton, Francis Chan, and George Waldbusser

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Session 125:   OCEAN ACIDIFICATION IN COASTAL AND ESTUARINE ENVIRONMENTS
Organizers: Simone Alin, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, simone.r.alin@noaa.gov; Adrienne Sutton, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, adrienne.sutton@noaa.gov; Francis Chan, Oregon State University, chanft@science.oregonstate.edu; George Waldbusser, Oregon State University, waldbuss@coas.oregonstate.edu

Globally, anthropogenic emissions of CO2 are driving significant changes in ocean carbon chemistry, including declines in pH and carbonate saturation states. In estuaries and coastal oceans, ocean acidification (OA) is occurring in the context of other natural and anthropogenic biogeochemical processes that may accentuate or mitigate the magnitude and impacts of OA. Understanding of how OA is progressing in these environments is critical to managing coastal and estuarine resources in a changing world. Because oceanic carbon chemistry changes can only be stabilized over centennial time-scales, identifying processes that can be managed to ameliorate the present and future impacts of OA will be particularly important. Creative interdisciplinary research is needed to examine the role of ocean acidification in coastal and estuarine ecosystems already altered by other biogeochemical processes. This session seeks to showcase research that explores ocean acidification patterns and impacts on coastal and estuarine ecosystems. Submissions with a focus on biological, chemical, geological, or modeling aspects of OA along the continental margins are welcome. We particularly encourage submissions that address interactions between OA and other stressors, such as eutrophication, hypoxia, climate change, and pollution.