b'SURFACE WATERFinDings To DateTyburczy is blunt about his findings so far. "The"These problems don\'t solve themselves," Yasui chemical benefits, the extent to which eelgrassadds. "But it\'s not a hope-and-pray situation, because counteracts the ocean\'s acidity seem to be morescience is a method above all, and scientists are modestnot as robustas we had hoped," he says. doing the research that needs to be done to find the "At least in North Humboldt Bay, it doesn\'t extractconnections that workand, by definition, also finding enough carbon to meet the needs of the hatchery." the ones that don\'tto create legitimate hopeand solutions."Eelgrass does raise water pH, he explains, but not enough to modify water chemistry as much as oysterTo that end, Tyburczy is still exploring the factors that producers had hoped. On Oregon\'s Netarts Bay, themake bays like Humboldt less acidic than the oceans staff of the Whiskey Creek oyster hatchery have foundthat feed into them. As part of that research, he is it necessary to raise the pH and carbonate saturationworking to differentiate the carbon-capturing effects of intake water with sodium carbonate. Based on theof eelgrass and phytoplankton, which may be masking results of Tyburczy\'s work with the Burke-o-lator, theeach other\'s effects. "That\'s too important a nexus not Hog Island Oyster Company hatchery on Humboldtto investigate," he says.Bay has begun buffering its seawater, too. Meanwhile, Tyburczy points out that even if eelgrass That\'s science, says Janice Yasui, SonTek productcan\'t overcome the effects of climate change on its manager. It\'s a journey. "Sometimes a single studyown, research like his is helping scientists appreciate will produce a revelatory result," she notes, "buthow strong an indicator it is of ecosystems that are often science is a longer process of building up thefunctioning in spite of the challenges around them. "If literature and performing the critical task of addingyou\'re going to find refugia from ocean acidification, to the body of knowledge, step by step. Scientistsa bay with a lot of eelgrass is a good place to look are the unsung heroes of our generation\'s efforts tofor that," he notes. That\'s good news for oysters, and address climate change.important for the rest of us to recognizeand protect.STORY SURVEY:Tell us how you felt about this story: YSI.com/MW-SurveyPhoto: Brian CarterCalifornia Sea Grant Extension ecologist Joe Tyburczy is studying eelgrass, which captures carbon dioxide in bay water.44 MISSION: WATER'