Why Is the West Coast Special? Acidification, Hypoxia, and Oceanographic Connections

Ocean acidification is a global phenomenon of changes in ocean chemistry associated with anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. However, the impacts are exacerbated in certain locations, due to oceanography, geography, and local climate. Along the West Coast of the U.S., there is great interest in developing region-specific knowledge and local scale mitigation strategies to modulate the negative impacts of acidification. In addition, strong linkages between oceanographic productivity, hypoxia, and acidification exist, in some cases imposing multiple stressors on ecosystems. This presentation will discuss regional and local oceanography that contributes to our understanding of West Coast ocean acidification and hypoxia, and to what extent local actions might be successful given the connections between local and larger scale conditions.