The Second Winter School on Ocean Acidification and Multiple Stressors was part of the capacity building program of the IAEA Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre (OA-ICC). The program aims to minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification (Sustainable Development Goal 14.3) and related stressors.
Human health and well-being are closely linked to the ocean and the many goods and services it provides. However, the ocean is under cumulative stress from a range of human-driven pressures, including pollution, warming, deoxygenation, and acidification, among others. The impact of multiple ocean stressors on marine life and ecosystem function is not well understood, yet it is central to their mitigation and/or to support adaptation strategies that might minimize their negative effects on species, ecosystems, and associated services.
To date, studies often focus on single species or groups of organisms and the influence of a single stressor, while information about ecosystem responses to multiple stressors is limited. Innovative science is needed to resolve the complexity of the interplay of stressors and the resulting impacts.
The course brought together 10 participants from the following countries: Argentina, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ghana, Italy, Malaysia, Namibia, Nigeria, Philippines, and Portugal. The aim of this course was to train early-career scientists working on ocean acidification and entering the multiple stressor field with the goal to better understand key concepts (e.g., What is a stressor? What is a mode of action? What is an interaction?), assist them to be able to measure and manipulate seawater physico-chemistry, develop relevant experimental strategies, set up pertinent experiments in the laboratory and in the field, analyse complex datasets, avoid typical pitfalls and ensure comparability with other studies.
The course was organized by the IAEA / OA-ICC in partnership with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.