BMSC Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre

The carbonate chemistry of seawater determines how marine systems interact with the global carbon cycle. Oceans are a major sink for atmospheric CO₂: about half of all human emissions have been offset by absorption into the global oceans. Unfortunately, this can also have a negative impact on ecosystems; CO₂ uptake leads to a steady decrease in seawater pH (ocean acidification) which can be harmful to certain marine organisms. As a result, interest in the marine carbonate system has expanded far beyond its traditional home in chemical oceanography: biological oceanographers are increasingly interested in the physiological and ecological impacts of ocean acidification; policy makers need accurate assessments of current and future CO₂ uptake for their jurisdictional waters; aquaculture and fisheries operators want to identify potential threats to their livelihood and understand mitigation options; and engineers, entrepreneurs, and environmentalists have all proposed varying natural (e.g. restoration of kelp beds) and artificial (e.g. alkalinity enhancement) interventions that may enhance the marine CO₂ sink while also reducing ocean acidification. But marine carbonate chemistry is complex and challenging to measure properly, making it difficult to achieve a high level of confidence in any of these efforts.

This course will introduce you to the field, laboratory, and analytical techniques needed to address these problems. Working from BMSC’s fleet of coastal vessels, you will get hands-on experience collecting, handling, and preserving water samples for chemical analysis. In the lab, you will operate state-of-the art instruments for measuring carbonate system parameters. Utilizing data collected from novel sensors deployed at BMSC, and in the surrounding coastal environments, you will learn specific considerations for data quality control and processing. Anticipated guest lectures and tours from BMSC’s partners will position the course within the context of aquaculture applications and the emerging marine carbon dioxide removal industry.

Most assessments of human response to climate change acknowledge that we will need to mitigate impacts like ocean acidification, and actively remove CO₂ from the atmosphere to augment emission reductions. Globally, we will be much more effective if we have a specialized “blue carbon” workforce that understands the complexities of the marine carbonate system, and is equipped with the skills to accurately measure and monitor essential variables in our oceans.

Technical Skills

• Collection, handling, and preservation of water samples for chemical analysis
• Calibration and deployment of modern sensors for ocean chemistry (pH, pCO₂, dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity)
• Laboratory analysis of marine carbonate system chemistry (pH, dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity)
• Calculation of air-sea carbon exchange/carbon budgets
• Computer analysis to derive key carbonate system parameters (e.g. carbonate saturation state)

 
General Skills

• Sampling, organizing, and collecting data
• Data and statistical analysis
• Assessment of error/uncertainty in lab and field data
• Working in small collaborative groups, presenting results in written and oral formats

 
Boat Use
Boat driving is not recommended for Introduction to Field and Laboratory Methods in Marine Carbonate Chemistry and students will not be provided in-class time to be trained on boat use. Students who wish to drive boats at the BMSC must hold a PCOC and valid first aid certificate and will need to participate in an introductory boat check-out and training on their own time.
 
Prerequisites
Students must have completed an introductory chemistry course with a laboratory component. Completion of introductory course(s) in geology, geography, and/or earth sciences is strongly recommended.
 
Physical requirements
Field and laboratory work may involve some or all of the following: walking and climbing on rocky shorelines, boarding and disembarking high-freeboard boats, working on small and medium sized boats in coastal waters in all weather, deploying and retrieving instruments/water sampling gear (typically weighing 5 kg or less) over the side of a boat, and repetitive movements.
 
Required Text

The required text for this course is:

Zeebe, R.E. and Wolf-Gladrow, D.A. (2001) CO₂ in Seawater: Equilibrium, Kinetics, Isotopes. Elsevier Oceanography Series.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/bookseries/elsevier-oceanography-series/vol/65/suppl/C

This text is available online, and access is likely available through your Institution’s library. Additional reading materials will be provided by the course instructor.