Impact of Anthropogenic CO2 on the CaCO3 System in the Oceans

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) | July 16th, 2004

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations over the past two centuries have led to greater CO2 uptake by the oceans. This acidification process has changed

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations over the past two centuries have led to greater CO2 uptake by the oceans. This acidification process has changed the saturation state of the oceans with respect to calcium carbonate (CaCO3) particles. Here we estimate the in situ CaCO3 dissolution rates for the global oceans from total alkalinity and chlorofluorocarbon data, and we also discuss the future impacts of anthropogenic CO2 on CaCO3 shell–forming species. CaCO3 dissolution rates, ranging from 0.003 to 1.2 micromoles per kilogram per year, are observed beginning near the aragonite saturation horizon. The total water column CaCO3 dissolution rate for the global oceans is approximately 0.5  0.2 petagrams of CaCO 3-C per year, which is approximately 45 to 65% of the export production of CaCO 3.

Impact of extreme drought and incentive programs on flooded agriculture and wetlands in California’s Central Valley

PeerJ | June 29th, 2018

Between 2013 and 2015, a large part of the western United States, including the Central Valley of California, sustained an extreme drought. The Central Valley is recogniz

Between 2013 and 2015, a large part of the western United States, including the Central Valley of California, sustained an extreme drought. The Central Valley is recognized as a region of hemispheric importance for waterbirds, which use flooded agriculture and wetlands as habitat. Thus, the impact of drought on the distribution of surface water needed to be assessed to understand the effects on waterbird habitat availability.Methods: We used remote sensing data to quantify the impact of the recent extreme drought on the timing and extent of waterbird habitat during the non-breeding season (July–May) by examining open water in agriculture (rice, corn, and other crops) and managed wetlands across the Central Valley. We assessed the influence of habitat incentive programs, particularly The Nature Conservancy’s BirdReturns and The Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Waterbird Habitat Enhancement Program (WHEP), at offsetting habitat loss related to drought.Results: Overall, we found statistically significant declines in open water in post-harvest agriculture (45–80% declines) and in managed wetlands (39–60% declines) during the 2013–2015 drought compared to non-drought years during the period of 2000–2011. Crops associated with the San Joaquin Basin, specifically corn, as well as wetlands in that part of the Central Valley exhibited larger reductions in open water than rice and wetlands in the Sacramento Valley. Semi-permanent wetlands on protected lands had significantly lower (39–49%) open water in the drought years than those on non-protected lands while seasonal wetlands on protected lands had higher amounts of open water. A large fraction of the daily open water in rice during certain times of the year, particularly in the fall for BirdReturns (61%) and the winter for WHEP (100%), may have been provided through incentive programs which underscores the contribution of these programs. However, further assessment is needed to know how much the incentive programs directly offset the impact of drought in post-harvest rice by influencing water management or simply supplemented funding for activities that might have been done regardless. Discussion: Our landscape analysis documents the significant impacts of the recent extreme drought on freshwater wetland habitats in the Central Valley, the benefits of incentive programs, and the value of using satellite data to track surface water and waterbird habitats. More research is needed to understand subsequent impacts on the freshwater dependent species that rely on these systems and how incentive programs can most strategically support vulnerable species during future extreme drought.

Implementing Climate-Smart Conservation

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | March 4th, 2025

In our first report, Climate-Smart Tools to Protect California’s Freshwater Biodiversity (Sommer et al. 2024), we reviewed a broad suite of tools available to a

In our first report, Climate-Smart Tools to Protect California’s Freshwater Biodiversity (Sommer et al. 2024), we reviewed a broad suite of tools available to address the urgent problem of safeguarding California’s freshwater biodiversity in the changing climate. This toolbox includes some familiar approaches—such as various ways to improve freshwater habitat—as well as approaches that may be less familiar, more experimental, and more controversial. We also recommended the adoption of a climate-smart conservation planning process, involving a broad range of stakeholders, to prioritize the selection of tools within watersheds and to adaptively implement those tools. In this follow-up report, we explore the feasibility of implementing these tools and climate-smart planning in light of legal, policy, and institutional factors.2 Our analysis draws on an extensive review of the legal literature on ecosystem and protected species management, as well as interviews and small workshops with a wide-ranging set of 45 experts from all over the state. These experts are working on the frontlines of ecosystem policy and management; they include state and federal regulators, members of the environmental conservation community, legal professionals, and representatives of many entities involved in water and land management.

Implementing Ecosystem Based Management

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum | June 7th, 2021

Importance of subsurface water for hydrological response during storms in a post-wildfire bedrock landscape

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | June 29th, 2023

Improving Adaptive Management in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | January 1st, 2016

Adaptive management is a science-based, structured approach to environmental management. It aids decision-making in the face of uncertainty about outcomes by emphasizing

Adaptive management is a science-based, structured approach to environmental management. It aids decision-making in the face of uncertainty about outcomes by emphasizing the acquisition and use of new knowledge, experience, and stakeholder input in management of natural resources under changing conditions. The Delta Reform Act of 2009 calls for adaptive management of efforts to make water supplies more reliable and ecosystems healthier. It is often talked about, but as a comprehensive, science-based process, adaptive management is little used in the Delta. This is not a unique situation; many environmental management programs around the world have encountered difficulties in managing natural resources adaptively. The Delta Independent Science Board (Delta ISB) reviewed how adaptive management is perceived and used in the Delta and how it might be applied more efficiently and effectively. This report identifies impediments to adaptive management in the Delta and makes recommendations for incorporating adaptive approaches to improve management of the Delta and its resources.

Improving Infrastructure for Wildlife

Social Science Research Network (SSRN) | February 25th, 2021

In Washington v. United States, 584 U.S. ___ (2018), the Supreme Court required Washington State to improve fish passage through almost 1,000 culverts originally built to

In Washington v. United States, 584 U.S. ___ (2018), the Supreme Court required Washington State to improve fish passage through almost 1,000 culverts originally built to allow streamflow under roads and highways. The case highlighted conflicts between wildlife needs and infrastructure development. Fish passage through outdated or ill-designed culverts is only a small facet of the larger problem of outdated wildlife infrastructure. Impinged migration corridors for ungulates, turtles, and other mobile taxa; levees disconnecting floodplains from rivers; poor water temperature controls on dams; and eroding ecological productivity accompanying aging of reservoirs exemplify the types of challenges to wildlife created by contemporary infrastructure.

Incentive-based Instruments for Freshwater Management

Pacific Institute | December 1st, 2015

This new synthesis report from the Pacific Institute and the Foundation Center provides a review of existing evidence about the use of incentive-based instruments worldwi

This new synthesis report from the Pacific Institute and the Foundation Center provides a review of existing evidence about the use of incentive-based instruments worldwide. Based on case studies, evaluations, journal articles, and white papers, the authors provide a detailed review of three incentive-based instruments: water trading, payment for ecosystem services, and water quality trading. The report and interactive tool highlight the importance of finding the right fit between a community’s water goals and the water management tool(s) it might choose and, perhaps most importantly, characterize the conditions required for their effective implementation. Originally commissioned by The Rockefeller Foundation, all of the results from this project: the synthesis report, interactive tool, and digital collection are freely available for funders, practitioners, and researchers to use, contribute to, and build on in their work.

Incorporation of Adaptive Management into Conservation Planning and Resource Management

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) | July 2nd, 2014

This document was prepared by the Science Institute to provide information to CDFW’s Divisions and Regions as they incorporate adaptive management in their conservation

This document was prepared by the Science Institute to provide information to CDFW’s Divisions and Regions as they incorporate adaptive management in their conservation and resource management decisions and planning documents. It highlights statutory definitions, statements of policy and requirements that are relevant to CDFW’s activities, and summarizes descriptions and evaluations of adaptive management in the technical literature. This information is relevant to all CDFW activities involving the conservation and management of natural resources under the jurisdiction of CDFW. However, given the breadth of CDFW’s Mission and the wide variety of regulatory, management and scientific roles CDFW plays, it should be emphasized that this information does not present a one-size-fits all approach to adaptive management. Rather, where adaptive management principles are appropriate and applicable in a given situation, the discussion and resources in this document should highlight issues for consideration under the specific circumstances at hand. CDFW affirms that project-specific circumstances always necessitate the development of project-specific adaptive management strategies. The information in this document is provided as a tool to be used, where appropriate, to support CDFW’s Divisions and Regions as they implement the CDFW Mission. The general principles presented here are not intended to be relied upon absent, or in lieu of, site- or project-specific analysis that shapes the application of these principles.

Independent Review Panel (IRP) Report for the 2015 Long-Term Operations Biological Opinions (LOBO) Annual Science Review

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | December 1st, 2015

This report presents findings and opinions of the Independent Review Panel (IRP) assembled by the Delta Science Program to inform the National Marine Fisheries Service (N

This report presents findings and opinions of the Independent Review Panel (IRP) assembled by the Delta Science Program to inform the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) as to the efficacy of water operations and certain regulatory actions prescribed by their respective Long-term Operations Biological Opinions’ (LOBO) Reasonable and Prudent Alternative Actions (RPAs) as applied from October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015 (Water Year 2015).  This year’s annual review focused primarily on: (1) Shasta Reservoir and Sacramento River temperature monitoring, modeling, and management, (2) the River Assessment for Forecasting Temperature (RAFT) decision support tool (model), (3) an Enhanced Particle Tracking Model (E-PTM), and (4) a USFWS report on past, present, and future approaches to incidental take of Delta Smelt.  After reviewing a required set of written documents (Appendix 1), the IRP convened at a public workshop in Sacramento, CA on 5-6 November 2015. The first day of the 2-day workshop included agency presentations and provided a forum for the IRP to interact and consider information presented on water operations, temperature modeling, monitoring and RPA Actions as implemented in yet another critically dry 2015 water year. On the second day, the IRP deliberated in a private session beginning at 9:00 a.m. in order to prepare and present their initial findings at the public workshop at 2:00 p.m., after which there was an opportunity for agency representatives, members of the public, and the IRP members to comment and otherwise exchange impressions and information. Subsequent IRP communication and deliberations were conducted via email and conference calls in the course of drafting this final report. Click here for federal agency response letter