Professional Development Training in Ocean Acidification: A Case Study of Marine Resource Managers

• Main Author: Moses, Michael L.
• Other Authors: Hales, Burke R., Rowe, Shawn, Conway, Flaxen, Chan, Francis, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Hatfield Marine Science Center
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English; unknown
• Published: Oregon State University
• Subjects: Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/8910k078t

Ocean acidification (OA) is the result of increasing concentrations of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, leading to a suite of alterations to specific parameters of ocean chemistry, which can negatively impact many marine organisms and ecosystems. Understanding how to measure and monitor the chemistry of OA will require specialized education and training, which may be important for the marine resource managers called upon to devise management strategies in response to the impacts of OA. We can best serve these OA ‘first responders’ by making this information more accessible via appropriate educational products that enhance their learning and empower effective management decision-making. For this study, we designed, developed, and piloted a professional training program on measuring and monitoring OA chemistry for marine resource managers in the Pacific Northwest. A companion survey was also developed in conjunction to assess outcomes in learning and professional behavior. Our participants demonstrated learning gains in key OA chemistry concepts, as well as changes in factors that indicated behavioral change. We present a training framework and its associated resources that science educators can use to deliver comparable training programs or build educational products to aid informal adult audiences in understanding and interpreting OA chemistry.