https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e48c2_f6bf8cb17a794ad6b27eb04f1228b0fc~mv2.jpg HB3114: Intertidal ocean acidification and hypoxia (OAH) monitoring at Oregon marine reserves Research Team: • Francis Chan (PI), Cooperative Institute for Marine Ecosystem and Resources Studies, Oregon State University • Samantha Chisholm Hatfield, Research Associate, Tribal Liaison, Oregon State University ​ Project Partners: Surfrider Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Friends of Cape Falcon Marine Reserve, Redfish Rocks Community Team, local residents ​ Project Objectives: • Improve our monitoring capabilities with duplicate sensors to build a more robust understanding of the geography of OA risk and their persistence across climate states. • Examine the strength of connection between inner-shelf and intertidal carbonate chemistry dynamics across different coastal regions. • Enable new engagement of Oregonians in understanding ocean change and marine reserves. • Begin to integrate knowledge of ocean change and marine reserves with the understanding of sense of place and perspectives of change by all Oregonians. Project Timeline: April 2022 to September 2024 ​ Project Award: $97,494

Sand dollars in subtidal soft bottom. Photo credit: ODFW. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e48c2_062afd6860f84ce180f6d47908cce8b3~mv2.jpg HB3114: Subtidal ocean acidification and hypoxia monitoring at Oregon marine reserves Research Team: • Francis Chan (PI), Cooperative Institute for Marine Ecosystem and Resources Studies, Oregon State University • Samantha Chisholm Hatfield, Research Associate, Tribal Liaison, Oregon State University ​ Project Objectives: • Sustain the crucial time-series observations at Cape Perpetua. The Cape Perpetua array has served as a backbone of OAH observations in Oregon. This project will capitalize on the decade-plus of operational experience in delivering high-quality research data streams to anchor a state-wide MR OAH observing network. • Increase statewide capacity for OAH monitoring and real-time data access across the marine reserve system as a whole. The project will build from partnerships and new technologies developed through prior NOAA and NSF awards to develop a community-supported OAH monitoring program by engaging fishing industry partners. ​Project Timeline: April 2022 to September 2024 ​ Project Award: $287,594

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e48c2_a58d8326f0f9469ba790ede32ab65351~mv2.jpg HB3114: Ocean acidification and hypoxia monitoring at Yaquina Bay Research Team: • Bob Cowen (PI), Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC), Oregon State University Project Partners: • Dr. Drummond Biles, iLab Manager, HMSC, Oregon State University • Dr. Eric Rehm, Senior Oceanographer, Sea-Bird Scientific • Dr. Andrew Barnard, Chief Technology Officer, Sea-Bird Scientific • Dr. Jan Newton, NANOOS Executive Director, University of Washington • Dr. Shawn Rowe, Associate Professor, Oregon State University • Kristen Peterse, Associate Director, Milne Computer Center, Oregon State University • Cinamon Moffett, Research Program Manger, HMSC, Oregon State University ​ Project Objectives: • OAH instruments in the HMSC Climate Monitoring station will collect climate-grade temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, conductivity, total algae, Nitrate, chlorophyll a, CDOM, pCO2, and TCO2 time-series data from Yaquina Bay, Oregon that will be shared near real-time and via a public exhibit in the Sea Grant Visitor Center at HMSC. ​Project Timeline: March 2022 to December 2025 ​ Project Award: $97,497 Final Report: Hatfield Marine Science Center Coastal Monitoring Station (https://0e48c232-d318-49c6-a0f9-4cbf7ce8886e.usrfiles.com/ugd/0e48c2_89e8afb7e57e472d94a422107782c1ed.pdf) Executive Summary: The Coastal Monitoring Station (CMS) at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC) began collecting and transmitting real-time, climate-grade water quality data to a public website in April 2025. Measurements at the estuary dock site have been ongoing since 1988, but funding for support has been sporadic. In 2021, the Oregon legislature allocated funds to enhance ocean acidification and hypoxia (OAH) monitoring. The CMS is a direct result of that funding, administered by the Oregon Ocean Science Trust. The CMS located in Yaquina Bay, Oregon, includes core in situ and benchtop sampling instruments, as well as an innovation test berth. The station is designed to be modular; it began with physical, chemical, and biological water sampling instruments, and a weather package is being installed in winter 2025-26. The system's data logging and visualization infrastructure is based on a system used by the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS). framework. The CMS is part of HMSC’s broader effort to increase public engagement with water quality issues through the real-time data website, a time series database, and a new public exhibit at the Hatfield Sea Grant Visitor Center. Researchers, resource managers, and the general public benefit from access to the data, which are also published to public repositories like ERDDAP. The CMS addresses critical OAH data gaps in the Yaquina estuary by providing a highly accurate and stable long-term data collection system. HMSC is committed to supporting this cost-effective and sustainable monitoring system for Yaquina Bay. Figure 1. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e48c2_b92106615524439993135dda2977a0b1~mv2.jpeg The instrument frame is deployed about 1m above the estuary floor. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e48c2_c2a47f740b8d42c49a0f20af45eecba9~mv2.jpeg The Burke-o-later (BOL) installed in the CMS. This instrument makes high resolution measurements of the carbonate system, incorporating temperature and salinity measurements. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e48c2_739eb8cc4261455d9b3074e97703c0f1~mv2.jpeg A screenshot of the CMS real-time data. The publicly accessible real-time CMS data website (https://hmsc-cms.dri.oregonstate.edu/plots/flowthrough/) ((https://hmsc-cms.dri.oregonstate.edu/plots/flowthrough/))went live in April 2025. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e48c2_3b181bd9cf9647cb85051cc38844c2a5~mv2.jpeg On 29 July 2025, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake occurred offshore of the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia, the largest on earth since the 2011 Mw 9.1 earthquake in Tohoku, Japan (USGS, 2025). The Newport, OR area went under a distant tsunami advisory, and the resulting water level fluctuation inside the Yaquina estuary was 6 inches. The CMS live data feed displayed the first wave to reach the HMSC dock at about 07:30 UTC (00:30 PST), as well as the resulting increases in turbidity, scattering and fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM)CMS depth (tide), scattering, turbidity and FDOM, 29-30 July 2025. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e48c2_49dd1b3bd23d416fb13051989b33474e~mv2.jpeg In early December 2025, a series of at least 3 atmospheric rivers began impacting Western Washington and Oregon, leading to historic flooding, landslides and record river levels. For several days, the HMSC facilities team wasn’t able to pump water to the seawater system as its salinity wasn’t high enough even during high tide. An initial analysis revealed that turbidity levels were twice baseline levels, even during high tide when the sediment-rich riverine signal is usually much weaker. This graphic illustrates an initial analysis of CMS turbidity and tide data, November-December 2025. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e48c2_191512fb788e4f0dbf5bff93f240fbf5~mv2.jpeg The Hatfield CMS website (https://hmsc.oregonstate.edu/research-support/coastal-monitoring-station) ((https://hmsc.oregonstate.edu/research-support/coastal-monitoring-station))went live in May 2025 with links to the real-time data, descriptions of the instruments, and a narrative of the project. Hatfield staff continue work with Sea Grant K-12 educators to create short videos and other content to engage website users and increase data literacy. The website will feature a web-based version of the exhibit video game and a link to the estuary floor webcam. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e48c2_29adfe307dfc430493e9784da7a3843c~mv2.jpeg The CMS exhibit with live data streaming and instrument frame replica.

Catlin Magel counts eelgrass shoots in the South Slough estuary near Coos Bay, Oregon. Photo credit: Toni Greaves. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e48c2_120562b75dd243ca939c22c8751ebed5~mv2.jpg HB3114: Ecosystem modeling of submerged aquatic vegetation Research Team: • Tarang Khangaonkar (PI), University of Washington, Salish Sea Modeling Center • Caitlin Magel (Co-PI), University of Washington, Puget Sound Institute Adi Nugraha (Co-PI), University of Washington, Salish Sea Modeling Center Project Partners: • Su Kyong Yun, University of Washington, Salish Sea Modeling Center • Alicia Helms, South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve • Jaime Belanger, South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve • Dave Sutherland, University of Oregon, Department of Earth Sciences • Janet Niessner, Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians ​ Project Objectives: Understand the dynamics of pH, dissolved oxygen, and eelgrass in Coos Bay using a biogeochemical ecosystem model. Two questions will be asked: • What ecohydrological dynamics confer vulnerability to OAH? • How would the absence of eelgrass alter pH and dissolved oxygen conditions and variability? Project Timeline: September 2022 through September 2024 ​ Project Award: $131,126 Project Final Report: Peer-reviewed Publication: Frontiers in Marine Science article: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1585621/full (https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1585621/full) https://vimeo.com/1026164032

Shellfish and SAV map: Oregon. https://cascadiavisualizations.github.io/shellfish-sav/ https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e48c2_2d3093ec936e46689ae8185fe8e51d98~mv2.png HB3114: Develop recommendations, through workshops or seminars, for maximizing the abundance of wild shellfish, cultured shellfish, and submerged aquatic vegetation in estuaries in Oregon; develop best management practices for conducting shellfish cultivation in a manner that protects or promotes estuarine health Research Team: • Melissa Ward (PI), San Diego State University • Brian Katz (Co-PI), Cascadia Visualizations, LLC and Oregon State University • Dr. Kristen Green (Co-PI), Oregon State University • Dr. Arielle Levine (Co-PI), San Diego State University ​ Project Objectives: • What are the environmental interactions between shellfish and SAV (with a focus on the Pacific Northwest), and what scientific gaps exist? • How do shellfish and SAV interact within Oregon’s regulatory and management landscape, and how does this inform or impact their co-management? • How does each stakeholder group perceive and envision co-management of shellfish and SAV, and how do these visions differ between groups? ​ Findings from these questions will be integrated into BMPs that aim to 1) maximize positive environmental interactions between shellfish and SAV, 2) work within the existing regulatory landscape, and 3) incorporate the diversity of stakeholder interests ​Project Timeline: June 2022 to August 2024 ​ Project Award: $170,521 Deliverables: Visualization: https://cascadiavisualizations.github.io/shellfish-sav/mapping-activity/results/ (https://cascadiavisualizations.github.io/shellfish-sav/mapping-activity/results/) https://vimeo.com/1025606429

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e48c2_2945da6bd81b419ab43e0ab91324f136~mv2.jpg HB3114: Life cycle impacts of ocean acidification and hypoxia on shellfish species that are of importance to Oregon Research Team: • George Waldbusser (PI), Oregon State University • Marnie Jo Zirbel, Oregon State University ​ Project Objectives: • Employ a space for time study design to examine shell and tissue growth and composition at various locations throughout Yaquina Bay, using existing infrastructure. • Continue to measure carbonate chemistry, salinity, temperature, and food quantity/quality at deployment locations throughout the bay. • Synthesize environmental data to identify the timescales and processes altering localized conditions throughout Yaquina Bay to understand underlying causes and effects on Olympia oyster fitness, growth, and survival. • Build a statistical growth model for Olympia oysters based on the environmental variables to relate growth and survival to environmental variables in Yaquina. ​Project Timeline: May 2022 to March 2025 ​ Project Award: $174,989 https://vimeo.com/1025971744

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e48c2_ad3bf7c9284840db9f85b1f3786f5e79~mv2.png HB3114: Develop a communications plan and strategy for outreach and education on ocean acidification and hypoxia impacts, science, and solutions Research Team: • Nancy Hotchkiss (Co-PI), Pathways Collaborative • Nette Pletcher (Co-PI), Pathways Collaborative • Terry O'Connor, Pathways Collaborative Project Objectives: • Clearly defined actions that address the human causes of ocean acidification and hypoxia events. • Defined audiences that respond to specific values, sense of community, and emotional investment in their location within the State of Oregon. • Three to five pilot-tested messages that resonate with the target audiences and have measurable success metrics. • A Communications Toolkit that provides background materials, training outlines and resources, and evaluation tools for measuring successes. • An implementation plan that outlines how to roll these messages out locally, regionally, and statewide, including defining the roles of content experts, messengers, and influencers that will play a role in successful implementation. ​Project Timeline: May 2022 to May 2024 ​ Project Award: $63,376​ Deliverables: Ocean Acidification & Hypoxia (OAH) Communication Plan(https://drive.google.com/file/d/122OV18fLZVIPW47IlK-VzJtuIJWs1zpl/view?usp=share_link) Workshop 1 slides(https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gEb6mFFPEzBG2rTFMCFX42AlLC32YWtR/view?usp=sharing) Workshop 2 slides(https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ziJawgjx1M4wsCcbNU3LzOHwYdTjjNyxorEPXgg2Csc/edit?usp=share_link) Recording: Communication Toolkit (https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/dT03_oflM1csyleaIfjaiR3AlADcWBDFRzrvK31G9V82PBnnBonMO5Lu5DFGFxPf.27OLtVcY-Bxt3I4y?startTime=1714410179000)- passcode: #k^iq+61 Recording: Implementation Plan (https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/GLRRnS4mn5YArPj_PXqNgW_f55hNJH38g0amTErX_HhDR69PNriu53xwc8vxpNAL.iv7xDUX7_ImbIJ8H)- passcode: #zc6Tka* OAH Sample Presentation (https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14R6ZmS1KSIjznalSWHy6HEztJMv4y4b2/edit?usp=share_link&ouid=109982188202400479736&rtpof=true&sd=true)(with speaker notes) Final Grant Report(https://www.oregonoceanscience.com/_files/ugd/0e48c2_9825dae97385486493032aebe18e8664.pdf)