Like many coastal states, ocean acidification is a subject of deep concern for New York State. Bipartisan legislation created the New York State Ocean Acidification Task Force in late 2016 and ocean acidification is a major topic of concern as outlined in the New York State Ocean Action Plan released in 2017. The NY OAP contains sixty-one actions that will be implemented to achieve better-managed and healthier ocean ecosystems that will benefit people, communities, and the natural world. To reach these long-term goals, the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) seeks to coordinate short-term actions that will guide State government funding, research, management, outreach, and education choices. Recognizing the need for better monitoring of carbonate chemistry in the coastal ocean, NYS DEC funded a bold new plan to simultaneously monitor carbonate chemistry and the pelagic food web from zooplankton to whales. Cruises will be conducted seasonally over the next 10 years and these data will be combined with censuses of marine mammals, fisheries acoustics and data collected in other efforts using state of the art modeling and visualization.

The Mid-Atlantic Coastal Acidification Network (MACAN) will host a webinar on Jan. 8 from 1-2 p.m. to present data from the first cruise conducted in July 2018 and discuss ongoing plans to monitor carbonate chemistry at intense spatial and temporal scales in the New York Bight. Attendees may register at
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7438297712889278211.