A1 - Ocean Acidification; Inorganic carbon system parameters in seawater


Field	Description	Validated Entry
[Table title]	Name of monitoring programme	Ocean Acidification; Inorganic carbon system parameters in seawater
[ProgrammeDescription]	Description of the monitoring programme	Ocean acidification (OA) monitoring is carried out within OSPAR's Coordinated Environmental Monitoring Programme (CEMP) (Agreement 2016-01). OA is a new component where monitoring is being developed. Parameters to be measured in relation to OA include: measurements of ocean chemistry, e.g. carbonates; measurements of pH; and measurements of impacts on biota.” with “Physicochemical parameters such as pH, alkalinity and carbonate concentrations will be measured in this programme as well as measurements associated with indicators of biological impact (which are currently still under development). The measurement of carbonate species in seawater is carried out for the following purposes: 1. monitor the spatial distribution of carbonate species concentrations within the maritime area. (In coastal areas, high quality marine observations may need to be coupled to regular monitoring of major river inputs); 2. assess trends in the degree of ocean acidification due to anthropogenic influences by monitoring pH, other carbonate system parameters, and carbonate mineral saturation over periods of several years; 3. provide information of sufficient spatial and temporal resolution to underpin the identification of biological impacts and future ecological risks through direct observation and the use of numerical models.
[OtherPoliciesConventions]	Monitoring for other Union legislation or international agreements that contributes to the programme.	OSP-CEMP
[Contracting Parties monitoring]	Which other countries are involved in practical implementation of this monitoring programme, and what is the degree of cooperation.	Coordinated data collection BE, DE, DK, IS, IE, NL, NO, SE, UK,
[Contracting Parties supplying data]
[Contracting Parties with an "opt out"]
[Temporal scope]	Start (and end) date of the programme.	2016 - 9999
[Spatial scope]	Spatial coverage of the programme according to the jurisdictional zones of marine waters.	EEZ (or similar, e.g. Contiguous Zone, Fishing Zone, Ecological Protection Zone)
[Aggregation of Data]	At which scale can the data from the sub-programme be aggregated for environmental assessments?	Other: unaggregated
[MarineReportingUnit]	Area(s) where the programme takes place.	marineSubregion marineSubdivision
[Monitoring Purpose]	Purpose of the programme aimed at collecting data and information.	Environmental state and impacts Pressures in the marine environment
[MonitoringType]	Type of monitoring (in-situ, remote sensing, etc.).	In-situ sampling offshore
[Indicator Metric]	Feature(s) monitored (ecosystem components, pressures, activities).	pCO2, pH,
[Elements]	Element(s) monitored (e.g. species, habitats, contaminants).	Dissolved carbon dioxide (pCO2)
[Element Monitored]		Physical and chemical features – pH, total alkalinity and dissolved inorganic carbon concentrations, or equivalent information used to measure marine acidification.
[Parameter Measured]	Parameter(s) monitored.	CO2, PH
[Monitoring Guidelines/Monitoring Method in place]	Guidelines/protocols describing the method for monitoring.	OSP-019 OTH
[MonitoringMethodOther]	Guidelines/protocols describing the method for monitoring.	Further information in Final report of Joint ICES-OSPAR Study Group on Ocean Acidification (SGOA 2014) http://ices.dk/sites/pub/Publication%20Reports/Expert%20Group%20Report/acom/2014/SGOA/sgoa_finalOSPAR_2015.pdf
[Quality Assurance Procedures in Place]	In addition to a specified method, is there any additional Quality Assurance used?	Other: Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO, University of California provide CRMs for DIC and TA. No routine intercalibration or proficiency testing scheme available for the carbonate chemistry parameters. There have been and there will continue to be ad hoc intercalibration exercises organised by SIO [An OSPAR sponsored QUASIMEME workshop (Feb 2016) has identified significant quality assurance issues to be addressed in order to support CEMP monitoring. The report is due in due May 2016]
[Quality Control]	What type of Quality Control is used?	Delayed mode
[Data submission Frequency (and deadline)]	Frequency of the monitoring	Other (as OA monitoring is currently in preCEMP, reporting is voluntary)
[Applicable MSFD GES Criteria]	Indicator(s) to which the programme contributes.	NotRelevant
[Data Depository]	Link to where monitoring data can be accessed (Art. 19(3)	http://ices.dk/data/data-portals/Pages/DOME.aspx https://cdiac.ess-dive.lbl.gov/ and national databases
[Data Custodian]		ICES DOME database for discrete data. Parameters, metadata and checks required for reporting OSPAR OA data to the ICES Environmental Database (ERF 3.2 format) have been defined and tested SGOA considered that, although the ICES oceanographic database can take high volume semi-continuous data, for example from sensors, this is not a preferred reporting route as it is limited in its ability to accept associated metadata and QC information. The Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Centre (CDIAC) in the US, is a major global repository of ocean carbon data can take including semi-continuous (sensor) data and data may be flagged as OSPAR data (Ref SGOA 2014 Final report section 8)
[Assessment Guidelines]
[Assessment tools available]
[Nature of data]		Processed

A1 - Ocean Acification