ISSUE 26, MARCH 2009 AVAILABLE ON-LINE AT www.the-eggs.org EGU matters… Alp-Water-Scarce: Why we need water management in the Alps The PACHIDERME cruise onboard R/V Marion Dufresne of the French Polar Institute THE EGGS | ISSUE 26 | MARCH 2009 3 EGU News 6 News 17 Journal Watch 21 EGU matters… LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT 22 Alp-Water-Scarce: Why we need water management in the Alps 26 The PACHIDERME cruise onboard R/V Marion Dufresne of the French Polar Institute EDITORS Managing Editor: Kostas Kourtidis Department of Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering Demokritus University of Thrace 36 New books Vas. Sofias 12, GR-67100 Xanthi, Greece tel. +30-25410-79383, fax. +30-25410-79379 email: [email protected] Assistant Editor: Magdeline Pokar Bristol Glaciology Center, 39 Events School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol University Road Bristol, BS8 1SS, United Kingdom tel. +44(0)117 928 8186, fax. +44(0)117 928 7878 46 Job Positions email: [email protected] Hydrological Sciences: Guenther Bloeschl Institut fur Hydraulik, Gewasserkunde und Wasserwirtschaft Technische Universitat Wien Karlsplatz 13/223, A-1040 Wien, Austria tel. +43-1-58801-22315, fax. +43-1-58801-22399 email: [email protected] Biogeosciences: Jean-Pierre Gattuso Laboratoire d’Oceanographie de Villefranche, UMR 7093 CNRS- UPMC B. P. 28, F-06234 Villefranche-sur-mer Cedex France tel. +33-(0)493763859, fax. +33-(0)493763834 email: [email protected] Geodesy: Susanna Zerbini Department of Physics, Sector of Geophysics University of Bolo- gna, Viale Berti Pichat 8 40127 Bologna, Italy tel. +39-051-2095019, fax +39-051-2095058 e-mail: [email protected] Geodynamics: Bert L.A. Vermeersen Delft University of Technology DEOS - Fac. Aerospace Engineer- ing Astrodynamics and Satellite Systems Kluyverweg 1, NL-2629 HS Delft The Netherlands tel. +31-15-2788272 fax. +31-15-2785322 8 e-mail: [email protected] Atmospheric Sciences: Hans Xiang-Yu Huang Danish Meteorological Institute, Lyngbyvej 100, 2100 Copenha- gen, Denmark tel. +45-39157423, fax. +45-39157460 e-mail: [email protected] Seismology: Marco Mucciarelli Universita della Basilicata Di.S.G.G Campus Macchia Romana, 85100 Potenza Italy tel. (39) 0971-205094, fax. (39) 0971-205070 e-mail: [email protected] Climate: Yu Shaocai Atmospheric Sciences Modeling Division (E243-01), National Exposure Research Laboratory U.S. Environmental Protection Agency RTP, NC 27711, USA tel. +1-919-541-0362, fax. +1-919-541-1379 e-mail: [email protected] Atmospheric Chemistry: Kostas Kourtidis Department of Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, Demokritus University of Thrace Vas. Sofias 12, GR-67100 Xanthi, Greece tel. +30-25410-79383, fax. +30-25410-79379 e-mail: [email protected] The third biggest ice cap in the world, the Vatnajokull in Iceland, seen from a plane. GENERAL CONTACT Credit: Lamquin Nicolas, CNRS/IPSL LMD. Distributed by EGU via www.imaggeo.net For general matters please contact Kostas Kourtidis, Image Link: http://www.imaggeo.net/index/showImage/image/203 at: [email protected] SUBMISSION OF MATERIAL For material submission, please contact the Editor-in-chief or the © European Geosciences Union, 2009 appropriate Section Editor. ADVERTISING Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged, save where otherwise stated. For advertising information, please contact: [email protected] Where prior permission must be obtained for the reproduction or use of textual and multimedia TECHNICAL information (sound, images, software, etc.), such permission shall cancel the abovementioned For technical questions, please contact: [email protected] general permission and indicate clearly any restrictions on use. THE EGGS 2 EGU Position Statement on Ocean Acidification The stetement is EGU’s response to the serious concerns across the scientific and resource management communities about the possible but largely unknown ecological and economical impacts of ocean acidification December 11, 2008.- Impacts of ocean acidification may cess commonly referred to as ocean acidification. Carbonate be just as dramatic as those of global warming (resulting from ion is a basic building block of skeletons and shells for a large anthropogenic activities on top of natural variability) and the number of marine organisms, including corals, shellfish, and combination of both are likely to exacerbate consequences, re- marine plankton. Some of these smaller calcifying plankton are sulting in potentially profound changes throughout marine eco- important food sources for higher marine organisms. Hence, if systems and in the services that they provide to humankind. the planktonic preys of larger fish are affected, this will have serious consequences for marine food webs. Also, the abun- Background on Ocean Acidification (OA) dance of commercially important shellfish species could de- cline. A decline in coral reefs due to increases in temperature Ocean acidification is a rapidly emerging scientific issue and decreases in carbonate ions would have negative impacts and its possible ecological and economical impacts (which are on fisheries and tourism. On the other hand, not all biological largely unknown) have raised serious concerns across the sci- impacts from rising atmospheric CO2 are necessarily deleteri- entific and resource management communities. ous for a species. There will likely be ecological `winners` as Since the beginning of the industrial revolution the release well as `losers`. The question remains, however, how the `win- of carbon dioxide (CO2) from our industrial and agricultural ners` will impact the ecosystem or the biogeochemical cycles activities has resulted in atmospheric CO2 concentrations as a whole. Thus ocean acidification could have profound im- that have increased from approximately 280 to 385 parts per pacts on some of the most fundamental biological and geo- million (ppm). The atmospheric concentration of CO2 is now chemical processes of the sea in coming decades. higher than experienced on Earth for at least the last 800,000 Ocean acidification is already occurring today and will con- years (direct ice core evidence) and probably the last 25 million tinue to intensify, closely tracking atmospheric CO2 increase. years, and is expected to continue to rise at an increasing rate, Given the potential threat to marine ecosystems and its ensu- leading to significant temperature increases in the atmosphere ing impact on human society and economy, especially as it and ocean in the coming decades. The ocean has absorbed acts in conjunction with anthropogenic global warming, there about 430 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, is an urgent need for immediate action. This “double trouble” or about one-third of anthropogenic carbon emissions. This is arguably the most critical environmental issue that humans absorption has benefited humankind by significantly lowering will have to face in the immediate future. The impacts of ocean greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, thereby reducing acidification will be global in scope yet are some of the least anthropogenic global warming. However, the pH of ocean sur- understood of all climate change phenomena. Given that face waters has already decreased by about 0.1 units, from chemical effects are already measurable and that biological an average of about 8.21 to 8.10 since the beginning of the impacts may be dramatic within only decades, Europe must industrial revolution. By the middle of this century atmospheric now accept the challenge to better coordinate and stimulate its carbon dioxide levels could reach more than 500 ppm, and research on ocean acidification. This is fundamental if we are near the end of the century they could be over 800 ppm. This to fully understand the risks and consequences of OA and to will result in an additional surface water pH decrease of ap- eventually help mitigate ocean acidification. proximately 0.4 pH units by 2100, implying that the ocean will This rather new recognition that, in addition to the impact be about 150% more acidic than at the beginning of the indus- of CO2 as a greenhouse gas on global climate change, OA is trial revolution. a direct consequence of the absorption of anthropogenic CO2 The relationship between atmospheric CO2 increase emissions, will hopefully help to set in motion an even more and global change is highly non-linear. On the contrary, the stringent CO2 mitigation policy worldwide. The only solutions relationship between atmospheric CO2 increase and OA via to avoid excessive OA are a long-term mitigation strategy to absorption by the ocean is straightforward and future projec- limit future release of CO2 to the atmosphere and/or enhance tions can be carried out with very high confidence, provided removal of excess CO2 from the atmosphere. that future atmospheric CO2 increase is known. When CO2 is absorbed by seawater, chemical changes occur that reduce EGU seawater pH and the concentration of carbonate ion in a pro- THE EGGS 3 back to contents General Assembly 2009 Vienna, Austria, 19 – 24 April 2009 The 2009 General Assembly of the EGU, bringing together http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2009/session- more than 9.000 geoscientists from all over Europe and the programme/TM rest of the world into one meeting covering all disciplines of the Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, is approaching. European Association for Geochemistry Social Event Visist the programme web site at on Wednesday, 22 April 2009, 19:00–20:00, in front of Room http://meetings.copernicus.org/egu2009/ 27. The European Association for Geochemistry invites all geo- and get informed about sessions and special events, such chemists attending the EGU General Assembly 2009 in Vienna as: for a social event taking place in the lounge in front of room 27. GB – Great Debates in Geosciences on Monday, 20 April 2009, 17:30–19:00, in Room 28 SC- Short courses Planetary dynamics and solar activity have a role in climate Eight short courses will be organised this year, change and geodynamics? - A debate dedicated to the memo- --Principles of laser-based isotope ratio measurements ry of Rhodes W.