Monitoring for Acidification Threats in West Coast Estuaries: A San Francisco Bay Case Study

The estuaries of the U.S. Pacific Coast are diverse and productive ecosystems of high ecological, cultural, and economic value. They have many stakeholders, are managed to meet many different, often competing, objectives, and contend with environmental stressors from a variety of sources.

Ocean acidification (OA) is one stressor expected to have widespread impacts on the Pacific coastal ecosystems. Recently, the West Coast Ocean Acidification & Hypoxia Science Panel recommended improved monitoring to assess biological impacts in the coastal ocean and estuaries. However, the current status and impacts of ocean acidification on West Coast estuaries are largely unknown.

A workshop in October 2016 brought together scientists from throughout the West Coast of the United States, leading researchers on San Francisco Bay, the region’s largest estuary, and representatives from a variety of management agencies. The main objectives of the Workshop were to assess whether acidification is of concern in the Bay and to identify its potential impacts to beneficial uses, cost-effective monitoring strategies, and potential management actions. Although the Bay was the case study, the aim was to develop general guidance that could be applied to West Coast estuaries.