From carbon capture to fisheries production to cultural identity and many other areas, aquatic ecosystems naturally provide numerous “services” to environmental health and human societies. But as populations grow and demands for resources expand, there is a renewed interest in using, restoring, repairing, modifying or otherwise “engineering” aquatic ecosystems to further help societies address some of their most pressing challenges. For example, to meet the Paris climate goals, CO2 will need to be removed from the atmosphere at rates of up to 10 GtCO2/y. And by 2050 it is projected that global food production will need to increase by >50% to meet the demands of increased population and per capita consumption. Aquatic ecosystems can play a direct or indirect role in addressing these and other grand challenges for society. Aquatic scientists, engineers, policy makers, entrepreneurs and others are among those exploring numerous approaches to leverage these special ecosystems to address local and global issues.
In this session we welcome all contributions that investigate, test, analyze, model or otherwise explore increasing the role of aquatic ecosystems in addressing broader issues of sustainability as well as coastal habitability. From marine carbon capture including ocean fertilization, alkalinization and biomass sequestration to repair and restoration of coastal salt marshes for enhanced carbon capture and storage, we seek solutions based submissions that leverage aquatic ecosystems. Aquatic energy and food production or enhanced coastal resiliency, whether on land or in the ocean, in ‘natural’ or highly engineered systems, that utilize processes and ecological and biochemical principles, are also welcome. Theoretical, experimental, social, for-profit or other modes of research are encouraged.
Multiple submissions for a specific "case study" or system are also encouraged. For example, as hurricanes and other storm events increase, and coastal flooding surges in Florida become more frequent, living shorelines and restored habitats provide a braided solution of green and grey infrastructure that also results in protecting many imperiled species. Enhanced salt marshes and oyster reefs, as green infrastructure installations and habitat restoration projects, are natural buffers reducing coastal erosion by absorbing wave energy. These projects, as part of Florida's Modern Approach: Landscape Conservation & Habitat Resiliency, often utilize native plants and geological materials to increase fish and wildlife access in critical habitat areas.
We expect a diverse portfolio of presentations, but with the common theme of aquatic ecosystem based solutions; these presentations are welcome to be single submissions or grouped into case studies or other themes.
Lead Organizer: Zackary Johnson, Duke University (zij@duke.edu)
Co-organizers:
Brian Silliman, Duke University (brs29@duke.edu)
Chris Osburn, NC State (closburn@ncsu.edu)
Christina Omran, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (christina.omran@gmail.com)
Presentations
04:30 PM
The Stone Living Lab: Boston Harbor as a Case Study for Adapting to Climate Change (9035)
Primary Presenter: Robert Chen, University of Massachusetts - Boston (bob.chen@umb.edu)
The Stone Living Lab is a broad partnership that conducts transformative research, impactful education, and innovative outreach to help promote the adoption of nature-based approaches for climate adaptation in a coastal city. Located in Boston Harbor, an urban estuarine ecosystem whose watershed is home to nearly 2 million residents, the Stone Living Lab facilitates research and education activities to address the needs of a variety of stakeholders by co-developing projects with community, city, state, federal, and tribal partners, iteratively adapting to internal and external opportunities and challenges, and strategically moving towards an evolving shared vision of the entire Boston Harbor system over 5, 30, and 200 year timescales. Explicitly assessing co-benefits, challenging significant barriers such as costs and permitting processes, and seamlessly integrating research and outreach goals and activities are signature traits of the Lab’s strategy. This presentation will focus on the adaptive nature of the Lab as well as some specific examples research projects and strategies to share our research findings and nature-based approaches with a diverse set of stakeholders.
04:45 PM
Future Fisheries and the Design and Operation of Nature-Inclusive Offshore Wind Farms (9560)
Primary Presenter: Josh Kohut, Rutgers University (kohut@marine.rutgers.edu)
The U.S. offshore wind energy resource is enormous and coastal states have made significant commitments to have increasing portions of their electricity supply come from offshore wind energy to help them achieve their climate goals. The development of offshore wind farms is hampered by many challenges including conflicts in the shared-use of the ocean with fisheries. The Offshore Wind Industry recognizes that to develop OW at a large scale in the U.S., they must include nature inclusive design that provides net-positive benefits to the environment including fisheries and associated communities. With support from the National Science Foundation, the MOCEAN team is hosting workshops, supporting field missions, and conducting other activities that are aimed at forming relationships with national, foreign, and international groups and individuals to co-create plans for the design and operation of nature-inclusive offshore wind farms. A primary focus on the MOCEAN team is to support the transition of fisheries to a future co-existence with planned offshore wind development. Leveraging the availability of existing ecological/fisheries datasets and co-existent oceanographic /atmospheric models, we will co-develop, with stakeholders and fishing industry partners, research, innovation, and product development that support the transition to a new blue future fisheries economy that co-exists with offshore wind. This presentation will introduce MOCEAN and opportunities to participate in MOCEAN future fisheries activities and for other collaborations.
05:00 PM
Stability Assessment of Calcium Carbonate Dissolution in Seawater as a Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Mechanism (9345)
Primary Presenter: Amanda Melendez, Georgia Southern University (amandabmelendez312@gmail.com)
Climate change presents an urgent global challenge, necessitating innovative solutions for carbon dioxide removal. Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) has emerged as a promising strategy for mitigating legacy CO2 emissions and advancing net-zero targets. The primary advantages of OAE lie in its potential for long-term and stable carbon dioxide sequestration in the ocean. Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) represents a novel approach to atmospheric CO2 removal; however, identifying suitable geological storage sites remains a significant challenge. The dissolution of calcium carbonate in seawater through the injection of point-source CO2 from biomass power plants offers a viable solution to this storage dilemma. This project aims to investigate the stability of OAE via calcium carbonate dissolution by testing three distinct alkalinity levels (+2000, +4000, +8000 µmol/kg) re-equilibrated to baseline pH and atmospheric partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) conditions. The alkalinity treatments were incubated at various temperatures to evaluate their stability under differing environmental conditions. Key objectives include assessing the stability of alkalinity across varying salinities, identifying precipitation thresholds, and examining the influence of temperature on OAE performance.
05:15 PM
The impacts of olivine-based enhanced weathering on the growth of the salt marsh grass Spartina alterniflora (9200)
Primary Presenter: Tyler Cyronak, Georgia Southern University (tcyronak@georgiasouthern.edu)
Enhanced weathering is a promising carbon dioxide removal strategy aimed at mitigating the effects of anthropogenic CO2 emissions on Earth's climate. Olivine, a naturally occurring mineral, is frequently utilized in this process due to its capacity to capture CO2 during weathering. Salt marshes, recognized as vital blue carbon ecosystems, play a significant role in carbon sequestration and storage within their soils. This study investigates the effects of olivine-based weathering on the growth of the keystone marsh grass species, Spartina alterniflora. Experimental treatments involved amending potting soil with either quartz play sand or olivine, each comprising one-third of the mixture, with and without the incorporation of natural marsh soil. Seedlings of S. alterniflora were planted in each treatment and monitored over a 12-week period. Results indicated that soil pH was significantly elevated in the olivine treatments compared to non-olivine treatments. However, metrics of plant success—including aboveground and belowground biomass, average growth rate, and plant height—were lower in the olivine treatments. Notably, a positive correlation was observed between soil pH and total biomass in the non-olivine treatments, suggesting that factors beyond soil pH may inhibit plant growth in olivine-amended soils. Further analysis of potentially toxic heavy metal concentrations in plant tissues is currently underway. While the limited performance of S. alterniflora seedlings in this controlled setting may not accurately reflect outcomes in natural salt marsh environments, this study highlights potential negative impacts of enhanced weathering on salt marsh vegetation and underscores the need for further research in this area.
05:30 PM
Managing Public Lands for Change; Florida’s Habitats, Species, and People (9590)
Primary Presenter: Logan Benedict, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (logan.benedict@myfwc.com)
Florida is home to an incredible diversity of native fish and wildlife, including 386 species of birds, 86 species of mammals, 90 species of reptiles, 136 species of fish, and 56 species of amphibians. Rising temperatures and sea levels are likely to change the makeup of entire ecosystems, forcing wildlife to shift their ranges or adapt. While it's easy to think of this as a problem for the future, these changes are already impacting species distributions, life histories, community composition, and ecosystem function. It is imperative as habitat and wildlife managers that we recognize areas where we can enhance ecosystem and species resilience and adapt our management techniques. Adaptation involves managing for change to ensure wildlife and their habitats are more resilient to whatever changes come. Since 2008, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has been engaged in the research, planning, and management necessary to enhance and develop the resiliency of our coastal ecosystems and adapt to a changing environment. This management involves integrating climate adaptation and resilience into agency work and implementing forward thinking and adaptive strategies to address the impacts of climatic shifts already set in motion while also implementing action aimed toward desired future conditions. This approach may shift our focus from restoring or maintaining historic land cover conditions that are likely to be unsustainable and allow for transition to new, sustainable systems that encourage migration of our ecosystems and our species inland. In 2023 FWC established its Climate Resiliency Team to organize its internal climate adaptation and resiliency efforts. This team’s mission is to integrate adaptation into all FWC programs to ensure healthy populations of all native wildlife and their habitats. The Climate Resiliency Team’s first step was to develop a 5-year action plan and annual review process to monitor agency progress and determine additional needs. Team actions range from the inclusion of more climate data (e.g. Sea Level Affecting Marsh models or SLAMM) into agency planning, to the implementation of nature-based solutions (e.g. living shorelines, oyster reefs, & mangrove restoration). Another major focus of FWC’s climate adaptation and resiliency efforts are its land management and acquisition practices, which can protect imperiled species by preserving critical habitats and connections that allow species to adapt to changing conditions. Through strategic land acquisitions, the FWC interconnects natural corridors and enhances species' resilience against climate-induced habitat loss, fragmentation, and shifting ecosystems. By translating scientific data into management, the FWC will continue its efforts to manage Florida’s wildlife and habitats to adapt to a changing climate, recover from disruption (e.g., hurricanes, crop freezes, tropical storms), and provide valuable ecosystem services. Through my presentation I will provide Florida based case study examples of the implementation of climate adaptation and resiliency practices into agency operations, and examples of collaborative climate adaptation and resiliency actions on the ground.
SS38B - Leveraging Aquatic Ecosystems to Address Society's Grand Challenges
Description
Time: 4:30 PM
Date: 30/3/2025
Room: W208