Third Winter School

Ocean acidification is not happening in isolation, but in combination with other human-driven pressures, including pollution, warming, and oxygen loss. The impact of multiple ocean stressors on marine life and ecosystem function is not well understood, yet this information is crucial to inform adaptation strategies that might minimize negative effects on organisms, ecosystems, and associated socioeconomic benefits.

The Third Winter School on Ocean Acidification and Multiple Stressors brought together 14 participants from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, India, Italy, Peru, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, the UK and the USA. The aim of the Winter School was to train early-career scientists who already have experience researching ocean acidification on how to study acidification in the context of other co-occurring stressors. Through lectures and practical exercises in the laboratory, the students gained understanding of key concepts in multiple-stressor research (e.g., What is a stressor? What is a mode of action? What is an interaction?), purposeful experimental design, and analysis of complex datasets. During the course, participants collaborated on a joint laboratory experiment to elucidate the effects of three simultaneous drivers on marine organisms.

The Winter School was co-organized by the IAEA Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation through the OACIS initiative, and supported by the Laboratoire d’oceanographie de Villefranche.