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Increased carbon emissions are rapidly acidifying our oceans

Ocean acidification threatens our marine ecosystems and the people connected to them. We connect research to decision makers to advance ocean acidification science, strategies and policies to restore the health of our oceans.

About WOAC
people digging for clams on a beach with clouds reflected in the wet sand

Our work

We serve Washington state by leading priority areas of ocean acidification research.

Partnerships

We strengthen our work through partnerships with federal, tribal, state and local governments, industry, universities and others.

Ocean acidification

The Puget Sound and our Pacific Northwest marine waters are particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification because of our location combined with other global, natural and human-driven factors.

News and Events

New Study: Pteropods Provide Early Insight Into Changing Ocean Conditions

Scientists have new information about how pteropods, tiny marine creatures so important to food webs they’re known as the “potato chips of the sea,” may fare under compounding environmental stressors.“We found that changing ocean conditions affect pteropods in multiple, overlapping ways, some of which could also be detrimental for long-term pteropod population sustainability ” Nina Bednaršek, a biological oceanographer at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center and the paper’s lead author, says. 

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