AOOS contributes to the maintenance of four Burke-o-Lators, located at coastal sites around the Gulf of Alaska. A Burke-o-Lator is a system of sensors that measures a suite of carbon chemistry parameters critical to ocean acidification: pCO2, TCO2. temperature and salinity. Using these four parameters, the saturation state of aragonite and pH are determined in real-time. Aragonite is a form of calcium carbonate that is critical to shell formation, and the aragonite saturation stateprovides a unit of measurement for how favorable the water is to shell-building organisms.
Another unique feature of the Burke-o-Lators is they can be taken off “continuous” mode and used to analyze discrete samples taken other places. In addition to collecting time-series data, the Burke-o-Lators now process water samples collected on a weekly basis from over 20 communities across Alaska. This provides the opportunity to get a regional picture of conditions on a local level, as well as promote local engagement. This community monitoring effort for OA is unique in the U.S.