Project Grant 2409440

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Geosciences Program (CFDA 47.050) Project Grant award of $200,000 to The Research Foundation For The State University Of New York (SUNY ESF) will support a 2-year study on the impacts of ocean acidification on shell formation in tropical marine bivalves. The project aims to identify the specific carbonate system parameters that drive shell formation in these ecologically and economically important species, and how those relationships may change under high CO2 conditions. The research will be conducted at SUNY ESF and the University of Hawai'i, Hilo, and will involve short-term incubation experiments as well as longer-term studies on calcification processes. The results will enable better predictions of how climate change and ocean acidification will impact these shell-forming organisms in coastal ecosystems. The award will also fund outreach activities and training for graduate and undergraduate students to address the linkages between marine organisms and seawater chemistry.