Alaskans are three times as likely as Americans as a whole to know about ocean acidification and be worried about it, but are hazy on the scientific process that is changing the chemistry of the oceans, according to a newly published study by researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The study, based on a detailed survey of 311 state residents and published online in the journal Marine Policy, is the first in-depth analysis of Alaskans' understanding of ocean acidification, the process by which marine waters are holding more carbon and becoming more acidic and thus more dangerous to shell-bearing life-forms.
Marine waters off Alaska are at enhanced risk for acidification, a process occurring around the world as carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere is absorbed by the oceans.
Cold waters like those off Alaska hold more carbon dioxide than do warm waters. Other characteristics also prime Alaska marine waters to be more acidic -- the broad continental shelf, over which there are expanses of relatively shallow waters; the global ocean currents, which reach Alaska last in their nutrient-delivering cycles; the high concentration of carbon-producing marine life.
Even melting glacier ice is contributing to acidification, a process under study in Prince William Sound.
Analysis by Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory found that the Bering Sea in winter holds the world's most acidic marine waters.
Ocean acidification is a complex phenomenon, and members of the public have not had much time to learn about it, said study leader Lauren Frisch, a research associate at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Ocean Acidification Research Center.
Unlike climate change, which has been part of the national discussion for years, "Ocean acidification is a topic that scientists have been studying only recently," Frisch said. "We just really haven't had the time yet to get that momentum."
The increased awareness in Alaska is a sign that educators are doing something right, Frisch said.
A result that the researchers found surprising: Fishermen are no more worried about acidification than are nonfishermen. Generally, Alaskans -- fishermen and nonfishermen alike -- are worried about effects of acidification on the fishing industry, according to the study results.
Seventy-nine percent of respondents said they viewed acidification as a moderate or strong threat to Alaska fisheries; only overfishing, cited by 88 percent of respondents, was rated as a bigger threat.
Acidification is seen more as a future threat than as something that will hurt livelihoods or food sources in the short term, according to the study.
That was understandable, the study authors said. The "worst-case scenarios may not occur until 2050 at the earliest, which can make it hard for individuals to evaluate (acidification) as a current threat," the study said. Still, it is important to solidify the understanding that reduced pH in marine waters "can have implications for marine species that are irreversible on human timescales," meaning that it is important to take action now to address that risk, the study said.
Respondents were highly supportive of research to better understand the ocean change. About 80 percent supported increased research into acidification, its relationship to climate change and its impact on Alaska fisheries.
But only 28 percent of respondents understood that acidification impacts would be greater in Alaska than in the United States as a whole, the study found. And few of the respondents understood that acidification impacts will vary greatly in Alaska, the study found.
"When it comes to how they might be specifically affected, that's where there's not the understanding, or there's a lack of understanding," Frisch said.
In fact, Alaska's regions and fisheries will be affected differently by acidification, as detailed in a study released in July. That study found that Southeast and Southwest Alaska are expected to be hurt the most by acidification.
The new study about Alaskans' perceptions of acidification suggests that future discussions should focus on community-level concerns, Frisch said.