MAGAZINE Chaotic chemistry experiment 6 No. 4 Fishing for hope 18 2010 The CirCle Southern discomfort 22 OCean AcidiFiCaTiOn ThreaTening Our OCeanS PUBLISHED BY THE WWF GLoBaL aRCTIC PRoGRaMME The Circle 4.2010 Contents AlAnnA Mitchell: eDITORiAl: Ocean acidification is invisible 3 in briefs 4 Richard Feely: Acid and the Arctic Ocean, our chaotic chemistry experiment 6 Steve SuMida and BRuce WRight: Alaskan waters become the battle ground – again 10 ulF RieBeSell; Big questions, big test tubes 12 helen FinDlAy: On thinning ice 15 Laura Edwards: At the ice Base – the research begins 17 AlAn ParkS: Fishing for hope in Alaska 18 Rob nicOll: Southern discomfort – Antarctic waters fast changing 22 the picture 24 OCean AcidiFiCaTiOn S).ˆ a ntarctic Survey (B a Photo: British The Circle is published quarterly by the Publisher: Editor in Chief: Clive Tesar, [email protected] CoVER: WWF Global arctic Programme. Re- WWF Global arctic Programme, Editor: Becky Rynor, [email protected] arctic pteropods commonly production and quotation with appropri- Po Box 6784 St olavs plass known as sea butterflies. ate credit are encouraged. articles by N-0130 oslo, Norway Design and production: “Pteropods are a particularly non-affiliated sources do not necessarily Ph: +47 22 03 65 00 Film & Form/Ketill Berger, important food source for reflect the views or policies of WWF. Fax: +47 22 20 06 66 [email protected] juvenile fish such as salmon Send change of address and subscrip- Internet: www.panda.org/arctic Printed at Merkur-Trykk aS and pollock.” tion queries to the address on the right. Dr. Richard Feely, page 9. We reserve the right to edit letters for Date of publication: December, 2010. Photo from:Dr. Russell R. Hopcroft Professor, Institute publication, and assume no responsibility ISSN 2074-076X = The Circle (oslo) of Marine Science, University of alaska Fairbanks for unsolicited material. 2 The Circle 4.2010 editorial Ocean acidification is invisible To the eye, first of all. Just looking at it, you can’t tell able calcium. That means creatures that need calcium that the water’s fundamental chemical composition – the to make shells, bones and bony structures are having dance of its hydrogen ions – has changed. trouble. It’s invisible on the political front, too. Off the radar. Scientists are finding that corals are scrambling to make Excluded from international carbon discussions, includ- their reefs, oyster shells are thinner, some plankton are us- ing the most recent round in Mexico. ing more energy making shells than doing other functions That’s despite the fact that scientists are now worried critical to the basic workings of the ocean. that the growing acidity of the ocean is at least as big a Along with that, the vulnerable larvae of threat to life on the planet as global climate change. oysters, snails and lobsters are struggling How? When we burn fossilized plants and animals – to mature. Fish become stupid, swimming we call them fuels – we are putting the carbon from an toward predators instead of away because ancient age into the atmosphere. So far, we’ve increased of an acid-made shift in their ability to the concentration of carbon smell. And these dioxide in the atmosphere from n ReADeRS OF the ciRcle are accustomed to are just a few of less than 0.03 per cent to nearly editorials that frame the issue we’re examining the effects scien- AlAnnA Mitchell is 0.04 per cent. That’s higher than in each edition, along with information about tists have taken a a journalist and author it’s been in millions of years. WWF solutions and initiatives. We pride our- look at. whose latest book, Sea- In the atmosphere, that car- selves on being a solutions-oriented organiza- The colder the sick: The global ocean bon dioxide acts like a blanket, tion. However, ocean acidification is too new water, the more in crisis, has become an keeping heat near the planet’s and the research too incomplete for us to fully quickly it ab- international bestseller. It surface, inert and powerful understand how to tackle this growing threat to sorbs carbon di- won the Grantham Prize enough to shift climate. our oceans. We are working with organizations oxide gas, and so for excellence in environ- But about a third of that an- such as the Catlin arctic Survey, which you can the more acidic. mental reporting. cient carbon has been absorbed read about in this edition that spent weeks on That means www.alannamitchell.com by the ocean’s surface, molecule the sea ice to conduct research into the effects the Arctic and by molecule, in an inexorable of ocean acidification.a nother article features Southern Oceans exchange between the air and the team of Dr. Ulf Riebesell, which lugged are becoming sea. In the ocean, carbon dioxide two tonnes of equipment to Svalbard, then acidic about is not inert. It reacts chemically posted 24-hour watches over their experiments twice as fast as the average. A with water to produce carbonic aimed at analyzing the impact of acidification recent study calculated that the acid. on plankton communities. This sort of cutting northern ocean will be the first Now, a couple of centuries edge research will help inform further actions, in the world to hit the point into the fossil-fuel-burning although it already seems clear that there will of no return with dangerous, industrial revolution, we’ve put be changes to the ecology of the arctic ocean, systemic acidification. By the so much ancient carbon into the and that the root cause of these changes is end of this decade, 10 per cent of atmosphere that the ocean has the amount of carbon dioxide that people are the Arctic will be so acidic it will become about 30 per cent more pumping into the atmosphere. This is our first damage, rather than foster, life. acidic than before we began. concerted effort to tackle ocean acidification Unless we do something. The That’s more acidic than the at a circumpolar level, and to bring together key is to sharply reduce carbon ocean has been for about 55 mil- some of the experts urging and taking action. emissions into the atmosphere lion years. as alanna Mitchell writes, “we need to make and the ocean. Halting ocean The implications? They ocean acidification visible.” The WWF Global acidification has to be a priority cascade through the oceanic arctic Programme believes that by increasing at every round of global climate chemical soup that is the basic its visibility here through The Circle, that we are change discussions. And we medium of life on the planet. contributing to a solution. need to make ocean acidification More acidity means less avail- Clive Tesar, editor-in-chief visible. The Circle 4.2010 3 in brief people.” Sommerkorn says he the two, smaller isolated of 2010 saw the best survival WWF at Japan was particularly encouraged areas for this species will rate in 35 years. In total, 24 by the support for RACER broaden and grow into one pairs raised pups, largely due conference expressed by scientists, large habitat between Norway to a combination of active technical consultants and and Sweden that would allow management and relatively DiRectOR OF the WWF other experts who attended fox populations to breed with high rodent population. By Global Arctic Programme, the week of workshops in Ot- each other, strengthening the late autumn, numerous lem- Alexander Shestakov, hosted tawa, Canada. “There is solid gene pool. ” ming tracks were observed a side event at the 10th meet- recognition that an assess- Arnbom says the number in arctic fox territory. “If this ing of the Conference of the ment embracing the changes of arctic foxes in Sweden is trend continues, there could Parties to the Convention on to come is critically needed a fraction of what it was 150 be an incredible increase of Biological Diversity (COP- and that assessing resilience years ago – just 130 foxes lemmings by next summer, 10) in Nagoya, Japan in is the right way to move according to numbers from which would result in a boom October. “When Parks are not forward,” he said. RACER is summer, 2010 – due to in the arctic fox population Enough,” delivered a strong designed to provide guidance increased hunting in the 19th throughout Scandinavia,” warning about ecosystem to government, industry and and 20th century. But he says Arnbom says. resilience and change in the other stakeholders to ensure a recent shortage of small ro- Arctic. functional arctic ecosystems. dents – the fox’s main source “Warming in the Arctic is of food – is also a factor. economic forum proceeding at twice the global “The Scandinavian lem- rate,” Shestakov says. “This arctic fox ming has been particularly champions WWF challenges the resilience of scarce,” Arnbom says. “To arctic ecosystems and calls WWF-SWeDen is involved in a help the arctic fox in Scandi- for a major re-think of arctic new program aimed at boost- navia, supplementary feeding management plan conservation.” ing and protecting the arctic with dog pellets and removal fox population in Scandina- of predatory red foxes close for Barents Sea via. to arctic fox dens has made a raCer moves “The Felles Fjellrev pro- difference in survival rates.” WWF-RuSSiA’S initiative for gram is attempting to repop- Arctic fox populations a Complex Management forward ulate areas where no arctic suffered severe declines in Plan for the Barents Sea was foxes are currently breeding,” 2008-2009 when only a highlighted at the Second A SlAte OF exPeRtS met says WWF spokesman Tom few pups out of each litter Arctic Economic Forum in in Ottawa to help WWF’s Arnbom.