Progress report for
Achievement at a glance
The Western Channel Observatory (WCO) is an oceanographic time-series and marine biodiversity reference site in the Western English Channel. In-situ measurements are undertaken weekly at a coastal station (now 30 years long) and fortnightly at an open shelf station. The WCO measures several factors crucial to the functioning of the marine ecosystem, such as light, temperature, salinity, carbon chemistry and nutrients. In addition, planktonic and benthic samples are taken. The time-series enables us to understand the physical, chemical and biological processes in the ocean, whilst identifying long-term trends and predicting future changes. WCO has been measuring ocean acidification (full carbonate chemistry suite: Dissolved Inorganic Carbon; Alkalinity, pH and pCO2) for 10 years and is the longest running ocean acidification time series in UK waters. WCO is jointly coordinated by Plymouth Marine Laboratory and the Marine Biological Association, UK.
Submitted on
21 September, 2018
Progress Status
On track