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<div class="impComposeSignature"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Join the first blitz of coastal acidification monitoring in the Northeast</span> <span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">- Aug 22 and 23, 2019</span>
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<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.3800000000000001;text-indent: 36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Shell Day aims to engage water quality monitoring organizations by focusing on coastal acidification measurements during a blitz throughout the New England coast on August 22 & 23, 2019. This citizen science collaboration will raise awareness of the opportunities for addressing coastal acidification, while helping to fill important gaps in scientific understanding. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.3800000000000001;text-indent: 36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has decreased seawater pH, thus making it more acidic. Along the coasts, acidification has additional local drivers such as freshwater inputs and excess nutrients. More acidified waters make it difficult for marine animals like clams and oysters to build their shells. To contribute to the understanding of coastal acidification in New England</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">, this is what participating organizations will do</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">: </span></p>
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<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.3800000000000001;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">On August 22nd</span> <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">more than 40 water quality monitoring groups from Long Island Sound to Downeast Maine will simultaneously collect water samples at low, mid, and high tide to provide a snapshot of seawater conditions affecting shellfish and other coastal resources. Each group will collect a total of five water bottles along a tidal cycle at a minimum of one site, and will measure seawater temperature and salinity when sampling water.</span></p>
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<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;margin-left: 4.5pt;">
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.3800000000000001;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">On August 23rd</span> <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">groups will transport their water samples to partner laboratories across the region, which will provide an opportunity to engage with researchers in an open house. During the open house, students, volunteers and citizen scientists will hear about coastal acidification research while examining the instrumentation and how samples will be analyzed. </span></p>
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<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.3800000000000001;text-indent: 36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">After analysis of samples and data synthesis, the results will be discussed with the monitoring groups and more broadly though the Northeast Coastal Acidification Network (NECAN).</span> <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Participating groups are encouraged to share their results and those of the region in their local communities</span> <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">to enhance coastal acidification understanding and discuss local adaptation actions.</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.3800000000000001;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Groups in Massachusetts interested in participating should Jennie Rheuban (jrheuban@whoi.edu) or Carolina Bastidas (bastidas@mit.edu) by <strong>Aug 5th. #ShellDay2019</strong></span><br>
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<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-b369a3cf-7fff-f38c-6264-d990ce0bb8e1" style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">More information about Shell Day can be found on the Northeast Coastal Acidification Network (NECAN) website at</span> <a href="http://www.necan.org/shellday" style="text-decoration:none;" target="5hrDXkv4Cn9dOy_gZxBSidA"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">http://www.necan.org/shellday</span></a></p>
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