Underwater in Salem Sound Lecture Series: Imagine a World Without Clams

Our "Underwater in Salem Sound Lecture Series" is back and we are excited to welcome Matt Liebman to do our first presentation of the year on ocean acidification! This is the first of three unique presentations! "Imagine a World Without Clams: How our New England Coastal Waters are Becoming More Acidic" Ocean and coastal acidification is sometimes called the other CO2 problem. About one quarter of our annual CO2 emissions are absorbed by the oceans. As a result, the oceans have become measurably more acidic. What does this mean for the ocean ecosystem, for shellfish, and for our economy when 2/3 of New England's finfish and shellfish landings revenue are from American lobster and sea scallops? Matt will also explain how coastal processes, such as nutrient enrichment, can make acidification worse, and how researchers, stakeholders and policy makers are working together in New England to better understand ocean and coastal acidification impacts and management responses. As a conclusion, he will offer some suggestions of what we can do to help. Matthew Liebman, Ph.D, is an Envir onmental Scientist with the US EPA Region 1 (New England) who has served as a project manager and scientist on various planning and research projects for the past 26 years. His work has covered beach management and monitoring; water quality standards; nutrient criteria; dredged material monitoring and management; and other coastal monitoring and assessment issues. He is currently the project manager for the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, one of the six National Estuary Programs in New England, and represents EPA Region 1 on the steering committee for the Northeast Coastal Acidification Network (NECAN).