|
In May 2004, the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC) hosted an international science symposium entitled The Ocean in a High CO2 World, which brought together over 120 scientists to assess what was known about the biological and biogeochemical consequences of increasing atmospheric and oceanic CO2 levels as well as the possible benefits and impacts of proposed ocean sequestration strategies. Symposium participants did not address whether it would be a good policy choice to sequester carbon dioxide in the ocean, but did identify what scientific information is available, and what is still needed, to make informed policy decisions.Participants also devised research strategies to address major unknowns identified during the symposium. The results of this conference were covered widely by the world's news media and encouraged other scientific groups and governments to begin looking at this problem. The scientific results were published in a special issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research, and were used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for their Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage. The Royal Society of London followed with a special report, and encouraged SCOR, the IOC of UNESCO, and the International Geosphere - Biosphere Programme (IGBP) to keep this issue under review at the international level. In 2005, the 132 Member States of the IOC Assembly and the Executive Committee of SCOR agreed to make this symposium a regular event to be held every 4 years with the goal of regularly assessing what is known about ocean acidification and its impacts on marine ecosystems, facilitating the exchange of information among research groups, identifying major unknowns, stimulating and facilitating the publication of peer-reviewed research, and developing research strategies and international collaborations for future investigations. In 2006, the IGBP and the International Atomic Energy Agency's Marine Environmental Laboratory (IAEA-MEL) joined SCOR and the IOC to support this regular event at the highest international and intergovernmental levels. These organizations developed the Ocean Acidification Network to provide an information network for the international scientific community. International Planning Committee Members: Ralph Cicerone (Chair,
USA) Symposium Coordinators : Ed Urban, Executive
Director, SCOR
|
|