| Summary: | Fragmented Ocean Acidification (OA) and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) data for the Salish Sea is a barrier to more effective transboundary ecosystem understanding and governance. There are several ecological indicators that could help to reflect health of the Salish Sea. Indicators can be separated into two categories: biological and chemical. Examples of biological indicators include pteropods, shellfish, seagrass; chemical indicators are aragonite saturation, pH, pCO2. However, the indicators are derived from different sources, cover different time periods, and cover different spatial areas of the Salish Sea. I am addressing the following questions to address gaps in indicator data. First, what are the most informative ecological indicators to discern critical climate risk trends from OA? Second, How can MPAs in the Salish Sea and their OA indicator data be effectively mapped? My study will engage both Salish Sea marine ecologists and Geographic Information Scientists through semi-structured interviews, online surveys, and analytic deliberative focus groups. They will help me identify the best OA indicators and cartographic designs for an informative and user-friendly interactive map. The produced map can be further developed to provide more information and data on other OA indicators, or other MPA threats such a pollution, water quality, or species tracking. Furthermore, this project can reflect and provide support on current and future marine policies addressed in the Salish Sea around OA and other climate change issues.
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