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Climatic change

Europe to study the acidification of the Mediterranean

The European project called MedSeA, led by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, is setting out to research the ecological and socioeconomic impacts of the acidification of the Mediterranean Sea caused by global warming. The aim is to map vulnerable areas and devise strategies to mitigate its effects

STAFF | FEBRUARY 23RD, 2011

Researching the ecological and socioeconomic impacts of acidification of the Mediterranean Sea caused by global warming is the mission of the new European project Mediterranean Sea Acidification in a changing climate (MedSeA). This project, funded by Europe’s 7^th Framework Programme, will conduct a survey of the chemical, climatic and biological processes that take place in the Mediterranean Sea due to increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO2). The project will pay special attention to the impact of acidification on marine organisms and examine the socioeconomic consequences of these changes.

The project, led by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, is interdisciplinary with the participation of chemists, biologists, ecologists and economists, and will serve to collect new data on the responses of the Mediterranean’s marine ecosystems to acidification and, therefore, lead to the drawing of a map of its most vulnerable areas. The project results will help to improve current oceanographic models and help formulate regional policy strategies to mitigate its effects.

The project will help to improve current oceanographic modelsMedSeA involves 86 researchers from 16 institutions in ten countries, is scheduled to last three years and is funded by a total budget of six million euros, of which 3.5 million are provided by the European Union. The groundwork of the project will be established at a meeting held at the end of February of some fifty European researchers. It will be the first meeting between scientists and a user reference group, consisting of policy experts, industrialists and representatives of nongovernmental organizations in the Mediterranean (MRUG).

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