2nd Winter School on Ocean Acidification and Multiple Stressors
Marine organisms and ecosystems are exposed to an array of global and local environmental pressures, such as overfishing, pollution, climate change, and ocean acidification, which could lead to compounded impacts. However, information on the combined impacts of these stressors is largely lacking, and existing studies are often inadequately designed or apply key concepts inaccurately.
The Second Winter School on Ocean Acidification and Multiple Stressors took place at the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratories in Monaco from 18-29 November 2024, with 12 participants from 11 countries (Argentina, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ghana, Italy, Namibia, Nigeria, Malaysia, Philippines, Portugal).
The programme included lectures on key concepts relevant for multiple-driver research, such as the difference between a driver and a stressor and the definition of synergistic, antagonistic, and additive effects of stressors. The course focused on laboratory experiments to understand the individual impacts of ocean acidification, temperature, and lithium pollution on the calcification of the coral Stylophora pistillata, using the radiotracer 45Ca. The results of the single-stressor experiments were used to model the combined effects of the three stressors and develop an experimental design to test this model. The goal is for the group to collaborate after the course to write a joint publication with the results.
Participants also visited the Oceanography Laboratory of Villefranche-sur-Mer for practical exercises on measuring and manipulating pH and total alkalinity in the lab for experimental purposes and calculating the full set of carbonate chemistry parameters using the software seacarb.
At the end of the course, participants worked on designing a multiple-driver experiment relevant to the local context and key issues faced in their countries.
The course was based on resources and tools developed by the SCOR COBS Working Group on multiple stressors, such as the MEDDLE simulator, which allows users to perform virtual multiple-stressor experiments.
The Winter School was the second edition in a series of trainings organised annually in November in Monaco. The series is co-organised by the IAEA OA-ICC and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation under the Foundation’s OACIS initiative and in partnership with the Oceanography Laboratory of Villefranche-sur-mer.
